Southwestern Resources Corp.: New Liam Joint Venture Partner
Thursday, August 21st 2008
Southwestern Resources Corp. announce that Hochschild Mining plc has acquired Newmont Mining Peru Limited’s direct and indirect 50% interest in the Liam Regional Joint Venture and certain other related assets for total consideration of US$33.3 million cash.
As a result of the transaction, Southwestern and Hochschild will be 50/50 partners in the Liam Joint Venture. Pursuant to the terms of the Liam Joint Venture, Hochschild will be the operator of the project and can earn up to an additional 20% interest in respect of each designated property within the project by producing a positive feasibility study and financing costs to commercial production.
The Liam Joint Venture covers the Liam Gold-Silver Project, which consists of 282,000 hectares in the Department of Cuzco in the southern portion of the Peru Tertiary Belt, 170 kilometres northwest of the city of Arequipa.
Timo Jauristo, the Company’s President and CEO, commented that: “We are very excited about having Hochschild as our new partner in the Liam Joint Venture. Hochschild is a world class precious metals mining company and brings a wide range of strategic benefits to the Liam Project. They currently operate four gold-silver mines in close proximity to Liam, at Arcata, Selene and Pallancata, and have successfully operated in southern Peru for many years. Hochschild’s participation increases the scope of the project beyond the past focus, which was on large, bulk mineable targets, to include multiple smaller deposits where mining could commence quickly, and ore could be treated at one of Hochschild’s nearby processing plants. Hochschild is an ideal partner for Southwestern on the project and we look forward to working with their experienced team.”
