VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Titan Mining Corporation (TSX: TI ) (“ Titan ” or the “ Company ”) today announced positive results from its 2018 exploration program at the Empire State Mine (“ESM”). The ongoing review of historic data at the mine has led to the identification of two new zones – the #2 Deep zone, immediately below the historic #2 mine, and the NE Streeter zone located less than a mile to the east of the #4 shaft. The #2 Deep and NE Streeter zones, and the previously-known #1 Deep zone, which is immediately below the historic #1 mine, will be tested for down-plunge extensions.
As part of the previously announced plan to expand throughput to 3,000 tons per day (“tpd”) in 2020, engineering work has begun on several fronts to support the economic analysis of the updated mineral resource. The #2 Deep and NE Streeter zones are not included in the current mineral resource at ESM, and there is potential for all three zones to provide additional mineral resources for the updated life-of-mine plan expected before year-end. All zones are above the current shaft bottom at 3,100 feet below surface.
- #2 Deep zone – This is a potential extension of a previously mined zone in the historic #2 mine. The #2 mine accounted for almost 18 million tons mined at a grade of 8.8% zinc, or approximately 50% of the combined historic production at ESM #1 to #4 mines. The #2 Deep zone is located 1,300 feet east of the #4 shaft. The historic estimate of unmined mineralized material at #2 Deep is 931,000 tons at a diluted grade of 6.59% zinc. The mineralization is open down-plunge to the north-northeast, and the extension has not yet been drill tested. There is potential to increase the strike length of the zone by approximately 1,000 feet, which would double the existing strike length. Drilling of this target from surface is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2018, followed by underground drilling in early 2019.
- NE Streeter – This mineralized zone is located 2,000 feet southeast of the Sylvia Lake deposit and 1,300 feet from surface. The historic estimate of unmined mineralized material is 300,000 tons at a diluted grade of 6.28% zinc, and mineralization remains open down-plunge.
- #1 Deep zone – This is a potential extension of a previously mined zone in the historic #1 mine. The historic estimate of unmined mineralized material is 410,000 tons at a diluted grade of 6.95% zinc. Similar to #2 Deep, the down-plunge extension of the mineralization has not been drill tested, and there is potential to double the strike length of the zone to approximately 2,000 feet.
“Our inventory of exploration targets has increased during the short review so far,” stated Scott Burkett, Vice President, Exploration. “We are excited about testing down-plunge extensions of known mineralization. Follow up drilling is planned as all three zones have the potential to add significantly to our resource base and can be developed relatively quickly and inexpensively given their proximity to current mine infrastructure.”
The historic estimates of unmined mineralized material at the #2 Deep, #1 Deep and NE Streeter zones are shown in Table 1. Figure 1 shows the location of these zones relative to the historic mine workings and current mineral resources.
| Table 1 – Unmined Historic Mineralized Material | ||||
| Mineralized Zone | Location | '000 Tons | Diluted Grade (% Zinc) | |
| #2 Deep | Below historic #2 mine | 931,000 | 6.59 | |
| NE Streeter | Southeast of Sylvia Lake zone | 300,000 | 6.28 | |
| #1 Deep | Below historic #1 mine | 410,000 | 6.95 | |
Figure 1 – Newly Identified Near-Mine Mineralized Zones – #2 Deep, NE Streeter and #1 Deep
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...2db5c9510f
The first priority of the exploration program continues to be the review of 100 years of historic data and the compilation, digitization and modeling of existing drill holes, geologic maps and sections. Early success in expanding the mineral resource at ESM was announced on April 10, 2018, and included an increase in inferred mineral resources of 3.1 million tons at an undiluted grade of 11.9% zinc. Only 40% of the planned review of historic data has been completed to date.
The exploration team continues to evaluate historic data for the three new zones in order to construct detailed geology models. This data/information will be used to confirm the historic estimates of mineralized material and to guide future exploration drilling. The surface drilling program will focus initially on the #2 Deep zone, followed by the other recently identified near-mine targets in the second half of 2018.
“Titan controls an excellent land package, including the recently restarted Empire State Mine #4 mine and six former mines,” continued Mr. Burkett. “This historic district is underexplored and offers the potential for multiple new discoveries in addition to follow-up drilling on known prospects. We are seeing the benefits of integrating a large historic archive of data into modern modeling software and believe that this will significantly improve our chances of discovering new deposits.”
Eric Strom, Vice President, Projects and Innovation added, “Geotechnical, pastefill and mine design studies for the expanded operation should be completed by year-end. Our new life-of-mine plan will reflect productivity improvements related to short interval control and operating through shift change, which we have already started to implement. One of the proven new technologies that we are considering is a rail-veyor, which appears well-suited to our operation. As we work closely with the exploration team on the remnants and other near-mine exploration targets at ESM, the path to 5,000 tons per day in 2022 is becoming clearer.”
About Titan Mining Corporation
Titan is a Canadian-based zinc exploration and development company which has as its principal asset the Empire State Mine in the State of New York. For more information on the Company, please visit our website at www.titanminingcorp.com .
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects”, “anticipates” and “intends” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, use of proceeds or timing of events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the “Risks and Uncertainties” section and other sections of the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017, available at www.sedar.com. No securities regulatory authority has expressed an opinion about the securities described herein and it is an offence to claim otherwise. Titan undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Contact
For further information, please contact:
Jerrold Annett – Senior Vice President, Corporate Development Telephone: 416-366-5678 Ext. 207 | Email: jannett@titanminingcorp.com
Jacqueline Allison – Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis Telephone: 416-366-5678 Ext. 205 | Email: jallison@titanminingcorp.com
