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Corriente Resources Inc. is a copper and copper/gold development and exploration company moving towards initial production. Corriente controls a 100% interest in approximately 62,000 hectares located within the Corriente Copper Belt. The Belt extends over a 20 x 80 kilometre area in southeast Ecuador and is one of the only undeveloped copper districts available in the world today. The Belt currently contains four copper and copper-gold porphyry deposits, Mirador, Mirador Norte, Panantza and San Carlos. Additional exploration activities will be ongoing, as six additional copper and copper-gold exploration targets have been identified in the Corriente Copper Belt to date.
Mirador – Moving Toward Production
Mirador is one of the few new significant greenfield copper-gold projects in the world that can be readied for near-term production. Mirador presents Corriente with a unique opportunity to introduce a substantial copper growth pipeline to a market environment that is plagued with supply challenges. Mirador’s robust project economics at 30,000 tonnes/day capacity allows Corriente to implement a scaled development strategy. This strategy calls for a modest first-phase project that can be financed by Corriente without major dilution to the company or the project itself. By using these first-phase cash flows, Corriente’s goal is to expand production at Mirador and bring online other deposits in the Belt.
In May 2006, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Energy and Mines’ (now called the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, “MMP”) approved the initial Mirador Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In September 2006, the company filed an amendment to the EIA (“EIAA”) to allow for mill, tailings and dump location changes to the original mine plan. Subsequent public consultations were successful. In May 2007, the company was advised by the MMP that this amended EIA will require further study. It is currently being revised for re-submittal and during this ongoing review process, the company continues to operate under the terms of the original EIA. Corriente recently resumed field activities related to the development of this EIAA, which will incorporate engineering enhancements completed on the Mirador Project.
The company was able to continue work in 2007 and 2008 on enhancements to various engineering aspects of the Mirador Project. Additional engineering and feasibility work was recently completed and summarized in the NI 43-101 compliant Feasibility Study (FS) announced on April 3, 2008. This FS report, which can be downloaded from SEDAR, includes a summary of the economic model for a first phase, 30,000 tonne per day concentrator operation at Mirador.
The FS projects an average of almost 130 Million pounds of annual copper production for the Project and shows a projected initial capital cost of approximately US$ 399 Million and approximately US$ 19 Million in working capital, which would be spent over a two year construction period prior to the start of production. The FS calls for daily throughput of the concentrator facility of approximately 30,000 tonnes per day, which is a material improvement over the original Feasibility Study results released by the company in April 2005, which planned for 25,000 tonnes per day.
The Base Case Net Present Value (“NPV”), after–tax, is US$ 265 Million, with an after-tax Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of 17.7% (using metal prices of US$ 1.75/lb Cu, US$ 7.50/oz Ag, US$ 550/oz Au, 8% discount rate, US$ 75/tonne and US$ 0.075/lb treatment and refining charges, respectively, for Cu).
With the copper and gold mineral resources identified at Mirador Norte, the estimated resources available for processing by the planned Mirador concentrator increases by 28% to 11 billion pounds of copper.
Panantza / San Carlos – Corriente’s Copper Growth PipelineBuilding upon our position as one of the junior copper industry’s leading near-term producers is the extensive resource base that we control outside of Mirador that gives Corriente a significant future copper production pipeline. There is high potential to continue to expand resources beyond the announced figures on our development projects such as Panantza and San Carlos, as well as our other exploration projects in the Corriente Copper Belt.Corriente recently announced a Preliminary Assessment on the Panantza – San Carlos project. The report proposes a mine plan based on the recently released, current Panantza resource estimate of 463 Mt of Inferred resources grading 0.66% copper , combined with re-estimated Inferred resources at San Carlos of 600 Mt at 0.59 % Cu (both at a 0.4% copper cut-off). The proposed mine plan would commence with a Panantza open pit and transition to a San Carlos open pit beginning in year 10, mining a total of 678 million tonnes of 0.62% copper over 21 years, at an average strip ratio of 1.1:1.With a clear and feasible plan for Mirador in place, and with ongoing exploration and development within our 100%-owned Corriente Copper Belt properties, Corriente is in a position that is unique in the junior base metals sector.
Corriente specializes in projects within major copper belts of the world. The current projects are in the Andean copper belt extending from Argentina to Ecuador, along the west coast of South America.
| Kenneth R. Shannon | President, CEO & Director |
| Daniel A. Carriere | Senior Vice-President |
| Darryl F. Jones | CFO & Corporate Secretary |
| Richard P. Clark | Director |
| Anthony Holler | Director & Chairman |
| G. Ross McDonald | Director |
| David G. Unruh | Director |
| Dale C. Peniuk | Director |
Company Address520-800 West Pender St.
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CapitalShares Outstanding: (As of May 31, 2008)
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Year EndDecember 31 |
| Management | 11% |