Gold Hawk to restart Coricancha mine

Vancouver – Recent Peruvian Government resolutions lifting a 2002 “stop work order” on the concentrator has Gold Hawk Resources (CGK-V, CGHRF-O) ready to recommence operations at its Coricancha gold-silver-lead-zinc mine located 90 km east of Lima in west-central Peru.

Gold Hawk is now able to draw down the remaining US$3 million of its US$5-million Tranche A loan facility provided by Natexis Banques Popularies and Auramet Trading. Additionally, terms of the Tranche B US$5-million loan facility have been amended allowing its release for capital funding requirements at the Coricancha mine through to mid-2007.

The company expects to fire up its mill in February 2007 and achieve full throughput of 600-tonnes-per-day within a couple of months.

Previously called Tamboraque, the mine was acquired by Gold Hawk earlier this year for US$12 million from proceeds of a brokered private placement. The company then successfully fulfilled the parameters required under Peruvian mining regulations to be issued its “Certificate of Mining Operations” in early-August.

The deposit hosts measured and indicated resources of about 653,000 tonnes grading 7.2 grams gold per tonne, 221.5 grams silver per tonne, 3.2% lead, 3.9% zinc and 0.4% copper. An additional 3.9 million inferred tonnes at 5.8 grams gold, 288 grams silver, 2.6% lead, 3.1% zinc and 0.35% copper has also been reviewed.

Mineralization occurs in hydrothermal, low-sulphidation polymetallic vein structures within andesites. The vein sets average about 0.6 metres in width but swell to 2 metres in sections. Pyrite, sphalerite, silver-rich galena, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, tennandite, tetrahedrite, native gold, native silver and quartz are the predominant minerals in the veins. Gold is predominantly hosted within the arsenopyrite and is mostly refractory due to inclusion and encapsulation.

The past producing mine has 37 developed stopes and a modern 600-tonne-per-day concentrator with a BIOX gold-silver recovery circuit. Infrastructure is ideal with paved road and rail to the front gate plus an adjacent generating plant. It is also located within 70 km of two smelters.