VANCOUVER,
Dec. 4, 2013 /CNW/ - Mirasol
Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:MRZ, Frankfurt: M8R) Mirasol
Resources announces results of votes from its Annual General and
Special Meeting of shareholders held December 2, 2013, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Each
of the director nominees proposed by management for election was
elected to the Board of Directors. The directors
re-elected for the coming year are Nick
DeMare, Timothy Heenan,
Mary Little and Borden Putnam III. All other ballot
initiatives were approved, including approval of the Company's
stock option plan and the renewal of the Shareholders Rights
Plan. Mirasol is pleased to confirm that Davidson &
Company were named as the Company's auditors.
Corporate Update: Mirasol
Achieves Significant Milestones on Its 10th Anniversary
and is Well Funded to Advance Programs
Mirasol marked its 10th anniversary
in October 2013 with:
- A strong balance sheet with cash and equivalents of
CDN$20.5 million, no debt and
marketable securities of 1.31 million shares of Coeur Mining, Inc
(cash value of US$15.0 million on
October 31, 2013)
- 22,300 hectares under Mirasol's control in a prospective new
gold belt in Northern Chile,
including the new Titan and Atlas gold-silver projects
- A new JV with First Quantum Minerals on our 100% owned Rubi
copper- gold- molybdenum project in the El Salvador mining district of Chile
- And a dominant position with the resource-ready Virginia
Silver Project and other drill-ready projects at Curva and Claudia
in the prolific precious metal mining province of Santa Cruz, Argentina.
Mirasol has enhanced its balance sheet and
business model during fiscal 2013 as the industry's leading
prospect generator. Achievements include significant
exploration advances on Mirasol's 100%-held gold, silver and copper
properties in northern Chile and
in Patagonia, southern Argentina;
the sale of the Joaquin silver-gold project to Coeur strengthening
the Company with significant cash; the strategic option of
Mirasol's Rubi property to copper producer First Quantum Minerals
Limited; and in Chile, exploration of a new gold
portfolio acquired by staking, giving Mirasol a foothold in an
emerging mineralized gold district.
Of note, Mirasol closed the sale of the Joaquin
Project in Argentina to Coeur
Mining, Inc. in December 2012 for a
US$60 million in value, comprised of
US$30 million in cash and 1.31
million Coeur NYSE-listed shares. The Company currently holds
Cdn$20.5 million in cash (net of
transaction taxes) plus the Coeur shares. This places Mirasol in
the enviable position of being self- funding in these challenging
market conditions, and as a result the Company is well positioned
to further its programs through 2014 and beyond. The funds
will provide liquidity and a strong basis for ongoing exploration
in Chile and potential
diversification through expansion of Mirasol's exploration
portfolio or a value-adding, high caliber strategic
transaction.
Mary Little,
Mirasol's President and CEO, commented, "In marking our
10th anniversary of the founding of Mirasol in October,
we believe we are well positioned in these cyclical precious metals
markets. We are advancing our new gold prospects, Titan and Atlas,
in Chile while reducing
expenditures significantly in Argentina, as justified by the challenging
investment environment. Our geologically robust assets in
Argentina, including the
high-grade Virginia silver
project, represent value for investors in Mirasol. We are managing
exploration risks and costs prudently and have an industry leading
exploration team focused on building a high caliber exploration
portfolio of precious metal properties with potential to deliver
continued exploration success."
The downturn in the precious metals equities
markets has been driven by softening silver and gold prices against
a backdrop of political risk sensitivity. The current macro
environment of risk aversion in the sector is impacting junior
companies more severely and has also impacted Mirasol's share
value.
However this challenging financial backdrop
leaves Mirasol in a unique position as a fully funded project
generator, presenting opportunities due to reduced competitor
activity in prospective mineral belts and the potential to leverage
the Company into high caliber advanced exploration
opportunities.
Mirasol's 2012 and 2013 year-to-date
Achievements
During late 2012 and the 2013 year-to-date,
Mirasol achieved the following milestones:
- Monetized the Company's 49% interest in the Joaquin silver-gold
project in Argentina, a Mirasol
discovery, to its joint venture partner Coeur in December 2012.
- Recorded two strategic joint venture agreements in sharing and
mitigating exploration risks and managing working capital:
-
- Announced an agreement for First Quantum Minerals Limited to
earn into a 55% interest on the Rubi copper-gold porphyry project
in the historic El Salvador copper
district, Chile, by investing
US$6.5 million in exploration over
four years and making staged cash payments to Mirasol totaling
US$1.1 million (Mirasol news release
of September 18, 2013.)
- Optioned a portfolio of early-stage properties totaling more
than 20,000 hectares adjacent and near to the Titan and Atlas
gold-silver properties, through a joint venture agreement with a
private Chilean group. (Mirasol news release of June 26, 2013.)
- Explored two large-scale gold-silver projects in the northern
extension of Chile's prolific
Maricunga gold-copper belt.
-
- At Titan in Chile, Mirasol
outlined a new, epithermal gold-mineralized system from trenching
over a 600 x 800 metre area. Mirasol completed a 15-hole,
3,200-metre RC drill program at the 5,515-hectare property.
Results include 18 metres of 2.16 g/t (grams per tonne) gold.
- The nearby 100%-owned Atlas property has returned trench
gold-silver results of 6.7 m of 2.33 g/t Au and 1.09 g/t Ag; 4.6 m
of 1.18 g/t Au and 0.46 g/t Ag; and 5.2 m of 1.46 g/t Au and 12.37
g/t Ag, including trench intersections of vuggy silica and breccia
structures. An aggressive exploration program is underway at this
project located 5 kms north of the Titan project.
- Advanced and added new targets at its principle 100%-owned
Virginia, Claudia and La Curva
projects in Argentina last
season:
-
- Virginia Silver Project: Reported Mirasol has drill-defined
seven high-grade silver quartz vein shoots since the project's
discovery in 2009. Initial metallurgical testing of the high
grade vein material returned silver recovery rates of between 75% -
91% using conventional agitated leach and flotation techniques.
Metallurgical testing of lower grade vein halo material suggest a
more refectory nature, however test are ongoing. Additional
surface exploration on the Virginia project during the year has defined a
series of new untested drill targets, including targets with high
grade silver mineralization in outcrop and trenching.
- Claudia Gold-Silver Project: Hosts the extension of AngloGold
Ashanti's world class Cerro
Vanguardia vein gold district. Mirasol's exploration at
Claudia identified a new large, multi-kilometer on-strike gold-
silver vein system at the Curahue prospect that is now drill
ready. New surface exploration and geophysics at the Rio Seco
prospect leveraged off the results of the 25-hole, 2,599-metre core
drilling program completed in 2012 to define a series of new high
priority drill targets.
- La Curva: The 2012-2013 exploration program now counts 4
high quality gold-silver prospects at La Curva, including
Cerro Chato, Loma Arthur, SW and Curva West. Results
from last season's geochemical, geophysical and new surface
geology program defined potential for both high grade vein
mineralization and larger bulk tonnage mineralization at the
project. La Curva has high priority drill targets defined at
three of these prospects.
Share Capitalization
Share capitalization remains conservative with
44.2 million shares outstanding after five equity offerings and
private placements since the Company's May
2005 initial public offering. Total equity financings,
including shares, warrants and options, raised for Mirasol as a
listed Company total approximately Cdn$42
million. The Company has no debt, has a strong, liquid
cash position and marketable securities, and is managed by a team
of dedicated exploration and mining industry professionals.
Mirasol's effective four-person Board of
Directors remains strong with the addition of Borden Putnam III as an independent director in
December 2012. Mr. Putnam has
spent the most recent 17 years as an analyst for the investment
management industry, predominately in natural resources sectors
(mining and oil and gas). Prior career experience includes
over 20 years within the mining industry, most in senior and
management positions with major producing companies, working
worldwide.
Outlook
Mirasol's Board of Directors and Management are
diligently monitoring the competitive landscape, including the
political environments where the Company operates and the precious
metals markets, to be fiscally responsible and carefully manage the
scope and investment in exploration and other corporate activities
to balance near-term and long-term goals, and mitigate risks to
shareholders.
The long-term vision remains unchanged - to be
the best-valued prospect generator in the precious metals sector
and having the top exploration team to build an
exceptional portfolio of assets.
As Mirasol moves ahead into 2014, its goals for
this fiscal year are as follows:
- Advance Titan and Atlas gold-silver projects in Chile toward a drill test or JV decision using
the Company's proven skills and cutting edge technology.
- Advance the Rubi porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum project in
Chile through its strong JV with
copper producer First Quantum Minerals.
- Actively seek quality JV partners to advance and add value to
its Argentine assets, which will reduce geopolitical exposure. (As
a junior with a strong balance sheet, Mirasol is uniquely
positioned to negotiate from a position of strength to secure a
minority carried interest of at least 25-30%).
- Scale back exploration and overhead investment in Argentina for fiscal 2013-14 to approximately
$250,000 per quarter until the
challenging resource development environment in Argentina improves.
- Consider a broad range of external opportunities for accretive
value creation and future growth.
About Mirasol Resources Ltd.
Mirasol is a well-funded exploration and
development company focused on the discovery, exploration and
acquisition of high-potential precious metals deposits in the
Americas, utilizing leading edge technology for strategic
advantage. Mirasol operates through subsidiary companies in
Chile and Argentina is engaged in generative exploration
in high-potential regions in the Americas. For further
information, visit Mirasol's web page at
www.mirasolresources.com.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and
does not accept responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of
this release.
Forward Looking Statements: Statements
contained in this news release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of known
and unknown risks, uncertainness and other factors that may cause
the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in
our forward looking statements. Although we believe that the
expectations in our forward looking statements are reasonable,
actual results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results,
levels of activity, performance or achievements.
SOURCE Mirasol Resources Ltd.