April 20, 2005-- Toronto, Ontario -- In a further advancement towards its mission Vena Resources Inc. (TSX.V : VEM) announces that it has received positive metallurgical results on the re-treatment of its Azulcocha poly-metallic stockpile. The Company has also located and purchased the complete and original geology, mine plan and exploration data for the original Minera Gran Bretana mine. This purchase will sharply focus and greatly reduce the planned exploration program costs to confirm the historically reported 3.3 million tons of remaining ore (Munoz 1994). This historical value is not NI43-101 compliant and should not be considered a resource or reserve using accepted mining definitions.
“These positive results complete an important leg in Vena’s development strategy. Future potential development of the Azulcocha project will come from (1) the previously milled stockpile, (2) the existing ore-body, (3) the new “inflection” targets nearby, and (4) a recently discovered high-grade zinc vein structure” said Juan Vegarra, Chairman and President.
Peru is well known for the variety and high grades of its mineral wealth and much of the country has scarcely been explored. The positive metallurgical results will allow VENA to complete its current pre-feasibility report and accompanying 43-101in May. Vena is confident that it will continue the Azulcocha project by undertaking a feasibility study.
Azulcocha Project
The Azulcocha project is a combined stockpile treatment / mine exploration development that is a key to the corporate development strategy of the Company.
Vena is also pressing ahead with an ambitious exploration program to identify additional drill targets. The recent acquisition of the original Minera Gran Bretana data will accelerate this process. In addition to aiding in the quantification of remaining mineral, this purchased data has identified other “inflection” targets which will be evaluated for drilling.
Metallurgical Results
An aggressive drill program has been completed allowing the stockpile volume to be defined at 40 meter spacing and with analytical samples taken every meter of drill depth . A composite sample of the entire suite of drill samples was created and used in extensive metallurgical testing by Mr. Juan Zegarra and Mr. Richard May, both graduates of the Royal School of Mines, London University.
The work-to-date results in an average stockpile grade of 3.6% zinc, 1.08 grams per tonne of gold and 9.3% manganese as shown on the summary table below. By regrinding the resource to obtain a 100% passing 100 mesh size, an acceptable zinc concentrate can be obtained. Gold is 36% recoverable and the manganese is readily leachable and can be electrowinned to produce higher value EMD and/or metallic manganese.
Manganese occurs primarily as rhodochrosite (MnCO3) and pyrolusite (MnO2) and can be readily upgraded to electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) which currently sells for US$1,500 per tonne in the North American market. World consumption of EMD for alkaline batteries in 2002 exceeded 230,000 tonnes with an annual growth rate in excess of 10% between 1996 and 2002. End users of this material include Energizer, Duracell, Eveready, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic and Philips. Future growth in the EMD market is expected to exceed current growth rates as global demand for batteries increases in areas such as mobile phone communications, lithium manganese rechargeable batteries and hybrid electric vehicle batteries. Next Steps
VENA intends to complete this phase of work (pre-feasibility and 43-101 resource and reserve estimate) in May and will immediately commence a feasibility study. The feasibility study will be largely an effort to confirm markets and pricing in order to make an appropriation decision. It is anticipated that no additional technical studies will be required to complete the feasibility study.
In addition to assessing the potential of the current stockpile, further drilling is needed to confirm the reported presence of additional underground mineralization. Historical average grades from the mine were 5.4% Zn and 19.6% Mn. As well, surface samples on a newly found vein structure have returned up to 46% zinc grades, thus meriting a comprehensive exploration program.
This press release has been reviewed by Mr. Murray Lytle, P.Eng. who is acting as the Qualified Person for this study and will subsequently submit the 43-101 qualifying report to identify the resource/reserve quantities.
Completion of Private Placement
Vena has closed the balance of subscriptions from European investors. This second closing is for approximately $730,000 bringing the total private placement to $3,985,914, almost double the original private placement size as originally announced on March 4, 2005.
Vena offered subscribers, one-half of their subscription at $0.45 per unit and one-half of their subscription at $0.48 per unit. Each unit consisted of one common share and one-half common share purchase warrant exercisable for 18 months at a price of $0.65 in the case of the $0.45 unit and $0.60 in the case of the $0.48 unit. This provided subscribers with a blended cost per unit of $0.465 and a blended common share purchase warrant exercise price of $0.625. The securities issued on closing are subject to a four-month hold period. The private placement is subject to regulatory approvals. A finder’s fee was paid to certain parties at the discretion of the Company in the form of placement units.
About Vena Resources Inc.
Vena Resources (TSX.V : VEM) is dedicated to building capital appreciation and creating long term shareholder value by developing the mineral and social capital of Peru. This will be done by deploying its financial resources so that its uniquely “Peru savvy” management team can aggressively acquire and advance high quality projects and people throughout the country.
Vena Resources is structured into four strategic business units:
· The Uranium Division controls 14,000 hectares of Uranium projects and manages the technical joint venture with IPEN for the exploration and confirmation of all 78 uranium targets found by IPEN during three decades of exploration throughout Peru;
· The Mining Division is responsible for bringing the Azulcocha poly-metallic project to fruition, potentially generating cash flow to fund the exploration activities of the other units;
· The Precious Metals Division is about to start second phase drilling of the Aucapampa project. It is performing extensive geochem and geophysics on the Tantar H.S. project. It also controls the strategically located “Las Princesas” gold property that is completely encircled by Barrick Gold and Pan American Silver claims and is immediately adjacent to Barrick’s Alto Chicama property, and has just purchased a set of properties from Inca Gold in the highly regarded Alto Chicama – Yanacocha belt;
· The Base Metals Division is responsible for developing all copper/moly systems including the recently acquired Aurora project - a large copper-molybdenum system that is going through a confirmation study.
A key risk mitigation strategy is to maintain the corporate development portfolio open to all types and classes of mineral wealth and keep the new project “pipeline” full.
For further information please visit the Company website at www.venaresources.com
John Cullen, Director (416) 364-7739 -- e-mail jcullen@venaresources.com
Denis Clement, Director (416) 364-1909 -- e-mail dclement@venaresources.com
Bryce Bradley, Corporate Development (416) 666-0519 -- e-mail bbradley@venaresources.com
IR Canada:Renmark Financial Communications Inc.
T: (514) 939-3989 F: (514) 939-3717
Tina Cameron - tcameron@renmarkfinancial.com
Henri Perron - hperron@renmarkfinancial.com
IR Europe:Vicarage Capital
T: +44-20-8715-3271 or +44-(0)-7880-787-080
Martin Wood - martin@vicaragecapital.com
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.
Statements in this press release regarding the Company’s business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, such as estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
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