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RosarioThe Rosario Project consists of 18 concessions totaling approximately 8,515 hectares and is located approximately 94 kilometres southeast of Mazatlan, and 57 kilometres from the town of Rosario. Access to the property is gained by an all weather road.Grupo México historically reported past production on the Rosario Project from 1986 to 2000 at an average rate of 600 tonnes per day with a total of 2.5 million tonnes of ore processed at an average grade of 190.5 g/t silver(Ag), 2.38% lead(Pb), 2.02% zinc(Zn), and 0.92 g/t gold(Au)*. All other facilities including surface rights, underground workings, water, power, offices, shops, warehouses, lab, mill infrastructure, and a town site will be part of the acquisition from Grupo México. There are two main areas on the Rosario Project - the Plomosas Mine and the San Juan prospect - where Grupo México had calculated historic reserves. At the Plomosas Mine, historical reserve calculations completed by Grupo México in 2000 resulted in a total of 638,000 tonnes as seen in the following table:
These reserves are located in a number of zones which include Veta Plomosas, Plomositas, lead-zinc stock work, and silver stock work zones. Aurcana will focus on the exploration potential that remains within these zones and intends to expand the reserves from areas remaining between old mine levels, and from below the lowest level exploited. Close attention will be paid to the two areas identified as stock work zones within the Plomosas Mine workings. The lead-zinc stock work zone has an historic proven, probable, and inferred tonnage of 311,000 tonnes grading 1.26 g/t Au, 40.1 g/t Ag, 2.96 % Pb, 4.16 % Zn, and 0.36 % Cu. A silver stock work zone reports an inferred tonnage of 114,000 tonnes with 289 g/t Ag, 0.93 % Pb, 1.11 % Zn, and 0.08 g/t Au. These stock work zones are thought to have potential for significant tonnage expansion. At the San Juan prospect, southwest of the Plomosas Mine site, Grupo México reports historic reserves of 256,000 tonnes at a grade of 329.3 g/t Ag, 1.69% Pb, 3.73% Zn, and 0.19 g/t Au. Several Kilometers of adits provide easy access to the San Juan prospect. From these adits a decline has been driven into the San Juan vein and has tested the zone over a vertical distance of 40 metres. The zone is still open to depth. Aurcana will make San Juan a focus of its early exploration on the property due to the high grade nature of the ore and the significant potential of the area. In addition to the San Juan area, a proposal put forward by Grupo México in 2002 recommended a number of drill holes to test other structures in the immediate area. The San Francisco vein which is interpreted to be an extension of the San Juan structure has values from surface sampling traced over a strike length of 600 metres. These include: 3.02 g/t Au and 314 g/t Ag over 1.6 metres, and 0.34 g/t Au, and 574 g/t Ag over 1.7 metres. Prior to drill testing of these areas, mapping and sampling will locate and verify the numbers presented by Grupo México. In addition to the Plomosas Mine and the San Juan prospect, there are a number of exploration targets outlined by geology, geochemistry and geophysics which are drill ready. In particular, Grupo México had proposed a significant amount of work including diamond drilling in the La Chorreras, and La Rastra areas. Aurcana is encouraged by the exploration potential that has been identified by Grupo México on the Rosario Project, and plans are underway to review all of the historic data in order to prioritize the targets for follow up work in 2008. The company has recently announced a $1.7 million, 6,500 metre diamond drill program. The priority objective is to expand historical reserves previously identified at the Plomosas Mine and the San Juan prospect, and to evaluate other anomalous zones and vein systems that have been identified on the project. * These estimates should not be relied upon until they have been confirmed by a 43-101 report.
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