PolyMet Mining Corp.: Exhibit 99.1 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com
 |
390 – 3600 Lysander Lane , Richmond, BC
Canada, V7B 1C3 |
| Tel: +1 (604) 248-0939 / Fax: +1 (604)
248-0940 |
| 444 Cedar Street, St. Paul, MN 55101, Tel: +1
(651) 389-4100 |
| 6500 County Road 666, Hoyt Lakes, MN
55750-0475, Tel: +1 (218) 471-2150 |
| www.polymetmining.com |
TSX: POM, NYSE MKT: PLM
POLYMET UPDATES
TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE
St. Paul, Minnesota, November 1, 2012 - PolyMet Mining Corp.
(TSX: POM; NYSE MKT: PLM) (“PolyMet” or the “Company”) has filed an updated
Technical Report under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") on its NorthMet
copper-nickel-precious metals project located in the established Mesabi Iron
Range mining district in northeastern Minnesota. The 43-101, dated October 12,
2012 has been filed on SEDAR and EDGAR and is on the Company's website at
www.polymetmining.com.
Pierre Desautels, P.Geo and Gordon Zurowski, P.Eng of AGP
Mining Consultants Inc. are Qualified Persons for the purposes of National
Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the information of a scientific
nature contained in this news release.
PolyMet News Release 2012-6 (June 14, 2012) reported that, in
response to a routine review by the British Columbia Securities Commission
("BCSC") of the Company's continuous disclosure, PolyMet would update the NI
43-101 to incorporate the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") prepared by
Bateman Engineers in 2006, subsequent expansion of mineral resources and mineral
reserves, modifications to the process flow sheet, and enhanced plans for
protecting the environment.
Project Development Overview
With publication of the DFS in September 2006, PolyMet
established SEC-standard mineral reserves. In September 2007, PolyMet reported
an expansion in these proven and probable mineral reserves to 274.7 million
short tons grading 0.28% copper, 0.08% nickel and 0.01 opt of precious metals
(palladium, platinum and gold). These expanded reserves had not been described
in a NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report, which has now been addressed in the
October 2012 Technical Report.
At a Net Metal Value (NMV) cut-off of US$7.42, the reserves lie
within measured and indicated mineral resources of 694 million tons grading
0.27% copper, 0.08% nickel and 0.01 opt of precious metals. In addition,
inferred mineral resources total 230 million tons grading 0.27% copper, 0.08%
nickel and 0.01 opt of precious metals.
The NMV is calculated using copper price at $1.25 per pound,
nickel at $5.60 per pound, and precious metal prices of $210, $800, and $400 per
ounce respectively for palladium, platinum and gold with refining, insurance and
transport cost, recovery ore to concentrate and recovery concentrate to metal
taken into account.
Metal in Model
|
Unit
|
Metal Price
($)
|
Refining, Insurance
and
Transport
($) |
Recovery Ore –
Concentrate
|
| Copper (%) |
US$/lb |
1.25 |
0.00 |
94.2% |
| Nickel (%) |
US$/lb |
5.60 |
1.40 |
72.5% |
| Cobalt (ppm) |
US$/lb |
15.25 |
6.10 |
42.0% |
| Platinum (ppb) |
US$/troy oz |
800.00 |
18.00 |
76.9% |
| Palladium (ppb) |
US$/troy oz |
210.00 |
17.00 |
79.6% |
| Gold (ppb) |
US$/troy oz |
400.00 |
9.50 |
75.7% |
2008 DFS Update
On May 20, 2008 PolyMet reported revised processing plans and
cost estimates for construction and operating costs that improve the economics
and reduce the operating risks. The mine reserves were unaffected by these
changes. The revised plans include:
-
the sale of concentrate during the construction and commissioning of new
metallurgical facilities resulting in a shorter pre-production construction
period (12-15 months) and reduced capital costs prior to first revenues ($312
million versus $380 million) despite the inclusion of an estimated $65 million
of additional measures to protect the environment;
-
the new metallurgical facilities to be constructed during initial
production and sales of concentrate. PolyMet anticipates that much of the
additional $290 million of capital costs (for total project capital of $602
million) will be largely funded from cash flow from initial operations;
-
mine plans (based on copper at $1.25 per pound) reflect the increase in
reserves and decrease in stripping ratio reported on September 26, 2007, the
use of 240-ton trucks, and owner versus contract mine operations, and
-
$77 million of mining equipment, which was assumed to be provided by a
mining contractor in the DFS, has been incorporated as an operating lease in
updated operating costs.
Project Improvements
On February 2, 2011 the Company announced that it had further
simplified the proposed metallurgical process, again with no change to the mine
plan, and now plans to build the project in two phases:
-
Phase I: produce and market concentrates containing copper, nickel, cobalt
and precious metals, and
-
Phase II: process the nickel concentrate through a single autoclave,
resulting in production and sale of high grade copper concentrate, value added
nickel-cobalt hydroxide, and precious metals precipitate products.
Previous plans included a second autoclave and a copper solvent
extraction/electro-winning (“SX-EW”) circuit to produce copper metal along with
value added nickel-cobalt hydroxide and precious metals precipitate products.
The changes reflect continued metallurgical process and other project
improvements as well as improved environmental controls that are being
incorporated into the environmental review process. The advantages, compared
with the earlier plan, include a better return on capital investment, reduced
financial risk, lower energy consumption, and reduced waste disposal and
emissions at site. Approximately $127 million of the total $602 million capital
costs estimated in the May 2008 DFS Update will not be incurred in this revised
plan.
Both the DFS Update and the 2011 Project Improvements are
described in the October2012 Technical Report.
Future Technical Report Updates
PolyMet intends to complete a full project update,
incorporating the 2011 Project Improvements and final environmental engineering
design controls as well as capital and operating costs, once detailed
engineering design has been finalized. These environmental engineering designs
include modular reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment facilities and other
engineering controls that demonstrate NorthMet meets state and federal
standards, including Minnesota's stringent water quality standards. PolyMet will
incorporate these changes into a new Technical Report under 43-101, which it
expects to publish in early 2013.
* * * * *
About PolyMet
PolyMet Mining Corp.
(www.polymetmining.com) is a publicly-traded mine development company that owns
100% of Poly Met Mining, Inc., a Minnesota corporation that controls 100% of the
NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals ore bodyrr through a long-term lease and
owns 100% of the Erie Plant, a large processing facility located approximately
six miles from the ore body in the established mining district of the Mesabi
Range in northeastern Minnesota. Poly Met Mining, Inc. has completed its
Definitive Feasibility Study and is seeking environmental and operating permits
to enable it to commence production. The NorthMet project is expected to require
approximately two million hours of construction labor, creating approximately
360 long-term jobs, a level of activity that will have a significant multiplier
effect in the local economy.
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POLYMET MINING CORP. |
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Per:
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“Jon Cherry" |
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Jon Cherry, CEO |
For further information, please contact:
| Corporate |
Media |
| Douglas Newby |
LaTisha Gietzen |
| Chief Financial Officer |
VP Public, Gov't & Environmental Affairs
|
| Tel: +1 (651) 389-4105 |
Tel: +1 (218) 225-4417 |
| dnewby@polymetmining.com |
lgietzen@polymetmining.com |
Investors
Jenny Knudson
VP – Investor Relations
Tel: +1 (651) 389-4110
jknudson@polymetmining.com
This news release contains certain forward-looking
statements concerning anticipated developments in PolyMet’s operations in the
future. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by
words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,”
“potential,” “possible,” “projects,” “plans,” and similar expressions, or
statements that events, conditions or results “will,” “may,” “could,” or
“should” occur or be achieved or their negatives or other comparable words.
These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding our beliefs
related to exploration results and budgets, reserve estimates, mineral resource
estimates, work programs, capital expenditures, actions by government
authorities, including changes in government regulation, the market price of
natural resources, costs, ability to receive environmental and operating
permits, job creation, or other statements that are not a statement of fact.
Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore
involve inherent known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements due to risks
facing PolyMet or due to actual facts differing from the assumptions underlying
its predictions.
PolyMet’s forward-looking statements are based on the
beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are
made, and PolyMet does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking
statements if circumstances or management’s beliefs, expectations and opinions
should change.
Specific reference is made to PolyMet’s most recent Annual
Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2012 and in our other
filings with Canadian securities authorities and the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our Report on Form 6-K providing information with
respect to our operations for the three months ended July 31, 2012 for a
discussion of some of the risk factors and other considerations underlying
forward-looking statements.
The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility
for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.