Joint Venture to Develop La Preciosa

VANCOUVER, BC - Pan American Silver Corp. reported that they have reached an agreement for the joint development of Orko Silver's La Preciosa silver project in the state of Durango, Mexico.
The La Preciosa silver project and adjacent mineral concessions of Santa Monica and San Juan, covers 32,422 hectares of contiguous mining claims on which Orko has already defined an indicated and inferred mineral resource. The indicated resource is estimated to comprise 10,637,000 tonnes, grading 185 grams of silver per tonne and 0.27 grams of gold per tonne, for a total of approximately 63,000,000 ounces of silver and 94,000 ounces of gold, while the inferred resource is estimated to comprise 12,087,000 tonnes, grading 185 grams of silver per tonne and 0.25 grams of gold per tonne, for a total of approximately 71,700,000 ounces of silver and 97,000 ounces of gold. The primary discovery is the Martha vein, which ranges from 2 to 40 meters in thickness and has been traced over 3.5 kilometers on strike. Martha remains open at depth and along strike, as do several other promising veins and earlier stage exploration targets within the remainder of the La Preciosa claims. For more details on the resource estimates, refer to the technical report by Mine Development Associates ("MDA") dated March 31, 2009. George Cavey, P.Geo., Orko's Vice-President, Exploration, is the Qualified Person who takes responsibility for the technical disclosure in this news release.
Pan American and Orko have agreed to form a joint venture to develop the La Preciosa project. Pan American will contribute its demonstrated mine development expertise, as well as 100% of the funds necessary to develop and construct an operating mine, in consideration for a 55% interest in the joint venture, while Orko will contribute its exploration expertise and the La Preciosa project and related concessions to retain a 45% interest.
Over the next 36 months, Pan American has agreed to spend an estimated US$16 million at La Preciosa to conduct resource definition drilling, acquire necessary surface rights, obtain permits, and ultimately prepare and deliver a feasibility study to maintain its interest in the Joint Venture.
The company’s address is 1500-625 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 2T6, (604) 684-1175, fax: (604) 684-0147, email: [email protected].