Vancouver, British Columbia, October 30, 2008. Candente Resource Corp. (DNT:TSX and BVL) ("Candente" or the "Company") provides a preview of the technical concepts in the pending Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for its Cañariaco Norte project located in Lambayeque, northern Peru. The Cañariaco Norte PEA is a scoping study level report being completed by SRK Inc. (Vancouver) in conjunction with Samuel Engineering Inc. (Denver) and is expected shortly.
To date, the technical parameters for the Cañariaco PEA include the following:
- Cañariaco mineral resource, including gold and silver, per announcements May and September 2008, respectively;
- Development and sustaining capital, as well as operating cost estimates for a large-scale open pit copper mine and processing facilities to produce copper concentrates;
- Preliminary siting and design specifications for project facilities and infrastructure including mine, processing plant, waste dump, tailings containment, roads and power supply;
- Moderate elevation with pit crest and process plant at approx. 3,050 masl;
- Water supply at the project site;
- Connection to national power grid -- approximately 57 km;
- New access road to major highway -- approximately 50 km;
- Expected mine life minimum of 19 years;
- Low life-of-mine strip ratio of approximately 0.55 to 1.0 (waste to ore);
- Throughput rate of up to 75,000 tonnes per day ore;
- Average copper concentrate production of 350,000 to 400,000 tonnes per year;
- Average copper production of approximately 100,000 tonnes per year (224 million pounds);
- Copper concentrate grade of 26% to 28%;
- Process metal recoveries of 88% for copper, 55% for gold and 65% for silver.
Development of the Cañariaco project would result in a significant increase in local and regional employment opportunities and would generate significant ongoing expenditures to regional and national suppliers for goods and services required for mine operation. Furthermore, the Cañariaco mine would provide a substantial long-term addition to the tax base for the Lambayeque region.
In keeping with world best practice, Candente intends to follow the Equator Principals and World Bank Standards for the proposed mining operation at Cañariaco. These protocols outline best practices for developing projects with regard to protecting the environment, biodiversity and managing social impact. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") baseline studies and other ESIA field work commenced in 2007 and are scheduled to be completed in 2009.
Candente management recognizes and fully respects the importance of water to both the daily lives of the surrounding communities and agricultural projects downstream. For Cañariaco, a controlled water management system will be developed and preliminary engineering studies indicate that the Cañariaco project will have limited impact on the local water resources. Local ground water and surface water courses within the proposed mine area are expected to be adequate to supply the majority of water required for the proposed mine operation. Should discharge of water to the environment be required, the water management system will ensure that discharge waters meet international and Peruvian regulations.
"The Cañariaco development team is finalizing the definition of what is becoming a very significant copper development project in Peru," comments Joanne Freeze, President and CEO. "We are anxious to receive the completed PEA study as this will be a significant milestone for Candente, Cañariaco, our stakeholders and our shareholders."
Sean Waller, P.Eng., VP Development, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the aspects of the project discussed above and has reviewed and approved the contents of this release.
Additional information on the Company is available at www.candente.com.
About Candente Resource Corp.
Candente is a diversified exploration company with copper, gold, silver, and zinc projects in Peru and Mexico. The Cañariaco Norte copper deposit located in Northern Peru, has a significant resource (6.47 billion ("B") pounds ("lb") Cu, 1.43 million ("M") ounces ("oz") gold and 36.5 M oz silver ("Ag") in the Measured and Indicated categories and 1.21 B lb Cu, 0.25 M oz Au and 6.77 M oz Ag in the Inferred category) as stated in a news release dated September 18, 2008.
Candente's directors and management have a track record in the discovery and development of copper, gold and silver deposits and subscribe to principles, which ensure that exploration and development activities are beneficial to the local communities.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Candente relies upon litigation protection for forward-looking statements.
CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS
We advise U.S. investors that this news release uses terms which are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including "mineral resources", "measured resources", "indicated resources" and "inferred resources". The estimation of measured and indicated resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that mineral resources in these categories will be converted to reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that estimates of inferred mineral resources exist, are economically mineable, or will be upgraded into measured or indicated mineral resources. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that mineral resources in any of these categories will be converted into reserves
For further information please contact:
Joanne C. Freeze
President and CEO
+1 (604) 689-1957
Email: jfreeze@candente.com
W. John DeCooman, Jr.
Vice President Finance and Corporate Development
+1 (917) 402-9416
Email: jdecooman@candente.com
or communications@candente.com
Visit our website at www.candente.com.
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