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   | Wed Nov 29, 2006
ROCA - MAX Molybdenum Mine Development Update
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| | Vancouver, British Columbia: Roca Mines Inc. (ROK: TSX-V) ("Roca" or the "Company") provides the following update on construction and development activities at the MAX Molybdenum Project, located 60 kilometres (36 miles) southeast of Revelstoke, British Columbia.
The Trout Lake area, like much of British Columbia, has suffered extreme weather conditions over the past month. Weather stations in Revelstoke reported more than twice the average monthly precipitation for November, causing many industrial, transportation and municipal operations throughout the region to be slowed or closed.
While November's weather conditions have marginally impacted construction at the MAX mill and plantsite facilities, underground development has been unaffected. The most challenging aspect of the recent weather on the project development has been the construction of the tailings facility and specifically, the earthfill dams. This component of the project has faced various unforeseen construction issues related to persistent precipitation since late October and the use of moisture-sensitive earthfill borrow sources.
The Company's engineers and contractors are now substituting quarried rockfill to allow for construction of the dams during weather events. As a result of these construction challenges and changes to the scope of work in the tailings area, the production startup for the MAX Molybdenum Project will be delayed by approximately three months and is now planned for late Q1 2007.
Roca is also concentrating on expanding underground mine production and accelerating assembly of the second 500 tpd mill circuit to a total mill capacity of approximately 1,000 tpd. Expansion of these two key elements of the project will provide tremendous surplus capacity and scheduling flexibility for the project. This will allow the MAX mine to meet its production target of two back-to-back production runs of 75,000 tonnes each by the end of calendar-2007.
The permitted Phase I mine plan for MAX will focus on the deposit's High-Grade Zone containing 280,000 measured and indicated tonnes grading 1.95 per cent MoS2 (refer to T.N. Macauley's 43-101 compliant technical report dated September, 2004). Molybdenum currently trades in the US$25-26 per pound range and is a key alloy in the manufacture of stainless and specialty steel, including pipelines and other energy-related steel infrastructure.
ROCA MINES INC.
"Scott Broughton"
Scott E. Broughton, P.Eng. -- President & CEO
For further information contact:
Doug Fosbrooke
Investor Relations
Tel: 604-684-2900
Fax: 604-684-2902
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.rocamines.com
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. |
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