COPPER-GOLD STUDY: PEA completed for $3.4-B Snowfield project

BRITISH COLUMBIA - The results of the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) are positive for the Snowfield copper-gold project belonging to Silver Standard Resources of Vancouver. The project is located on the eastern margin of the Coast Mountain Range, 65 km north of Stewart.

According to the PEA, Snowfield with be an open pit mine with a 120,000-t/d mill feed rate. Annual average output will be 607,000 oz of gold and 57.8 million lb of copper, and 4.5 million lb of molybdenum over a mine life of 23 years. The property also has the potential for rhenium production.

The capital investment for the Snowfield development will be US$3.4 billion. Operating costs will be approximately US$8.52 per tonne milled. The project will produce a copper concentrate (110 g/t Au, 22% Cu and 303 g/t Ag), a gold-silver doré (32.3% Cu and 67.7% Ag) and a molybdenum concentrate (50% Mo).

If the timeline included in the PEA is realistic, permits would be received for Snowfield by the end of 2014, three years of construction would follow, and commissioning take place in Q2 2018. The property has measured and indicated resources of 134.7 million tonnes grading 1.5 g/t Au, 0.06% Cu and 120 ppm Mo.

The PEA prepared by Wardrop Engineering may be read in its entirety at www.Silver-Standard.com.