Feb 14 2011
CALAIS RESOURCES, INC (Pink Sheets: CAAUF), a development stage mineral exploration company, is pleased to announce that SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. has completed Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical reports for each of Calais' mineral properties located in Colorado and Nevada.
The Technical Reports have been filed on SEDAR and are also available for review on the Calais website.
Colorado Assets
Calais' Colorado mining properties are comprised of a series of 137 patented claims and 105 unpatented claims which cover approximately 3.5mi2 (2,240ac - 906ha) within the Grand Island Mining District of Colorado near the town of Nederland, Colorado. These claims are referred to as the Consolidated Caribou Claims and include the Caribou Project, and the Cross Project. The Cross Project has an active Colorado 110 Permit, allowing a small-scale mining operation of up to 70,000st/yr (63,500t/yr).
The Cross Project has largely been inactive since 1998 due primarily to a lack of capital funding and a mill to process the ore. However, before the cessation of operations, significant underground development was completed exposing mineralized material on four (4) underground levels in the mine.
Given the existing underground mine development, Calais believes that it has the ability to bring the Cross Project into production within a short timeframe. While no mineral resources are included in their report, SRK is of the opinion that mineralization can be quickly converted into mineral resources and potential mineral reserves with a proper core drilling program and prefeasibility study with the first phase estimated to cost US$ 3.0 million.
Historic Resources
Pincock, Allen and Holt Consulting Engineers ("PAH") were retained in 1998 by Calais to review the resource estimations completed by the Company. PAH created a polygonal resource based on long section projections of only the veins which had been estimated by the Company. Methodologies employed during the historical resource estimations for the Cross Project and the subsequent results are not NI 43-101 compliant, they are classified at the discretion of PAH at the time and do not meet current CIM classification standards. They are not reported by any cutoff guidelines, and are only described herein for a historical recounting of the deposit.
Calais issued a series of news releases during 2003 based upon reports repaired by Robert L. Akright, a geologic consultant, and PAH which referenced a statement of mineral resources dated August 2002 and shown below.
Historic Resource Statement (non NI 43-101Compliant) - Consolidated Caribou District (August 2002)
Source: Calais Resources press release, 19 January 2004.
On 19 January 2004, Calais issued a press release referencing the August 2002 resource statement. The press release stated that while PAH and Calais believes the resource estimate "represented reasonable estimations for the eight project veins being considered" the public disclosure was not in compliance with the requirements of NI 43-101.
The Company plans on starting the core drilling program on the surface and underground over the next few months. The results of this core drilling program as well as the restart of the Cross Mine operations will be used to further update the resource to current NI 43-101 requirements.
Nevada Assets
The Company's Manhattan Project is located in Nye County in south central Nevada within the historic Manhattan Mining District. The project is centered around the historic White Caps Mine that operated continuously from 1906 until 1942, and intermittently from 1942 until 1964. During the period from 1907 to 1925, the mine is reported to have produced 194,400oz of gold. An underground fire in 1964 burned down the main shaft and the mine was closed.
Overall, the property is comprised of 203 unpatented (approximately 3,370ac/1,364ha)) and 28 patented (approximately 428ac/173ha) lode claims totaling 3,798ac (1,537ha). Calais owns or controls 100% of the project and can conduct mining and exploration on these claims.
Qualified Person
Bart Stryhas, PhD, CPG
Dr. Bart Stryhas is an employee of SRK Consulting and is responsible for all sections of the reports. He has thoroughly reviewed the historical data files and provided a compilation of the historical work. He has visited both properties. Dr. Stryhas is a "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 and is the "Qualified Person" for these reports.
In commenting on the completion of the Technical Reports for Calais, R. David Russell CEO of Calais stated "We have made significant progress by completing the required NI 43-101 Technical Reports for our assets in Colorado and Nevada. While the reports do not comment on resources at this time, we are initiating our core drilling program under the guidelines of current NI 43 - 101 standards with current quality control / quality assurance programs. As we complete our exploration programs, the Company will report on significant results and further updates to the Technical Reports from time to time".
Source: CALAIS RESOURCES, INC