Post by Franko10 ™ on Feb 23, 2006 9:24:39 GMT -5
Status Letter from El Capitan President
07:00 EST Tuesday, February 21, 2006
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Business Wire) -- El Capitan Precious Metals Inc. (OTCBB:ECPN) reports shareholder letter from Charles C. Mottley, company president and CEO:
To: Company Shareholders
We are all awaiting the publishing of the "Final Report" on the Stage II drilling project which inferred more than 37,000,000 tons of mineralization of gold and platinum group metals in the El Capitan property.
The final results on the original study referenced earlier and conducted by Dr. Clyde Smith, the company's consulting geologist, will be issued as soon as all of the data has been verified by the team of professionals working on this complex project. To insure accuracy beyond interpretation, independent metallurgists reporting to Smith are confirming their final results multiple times. This confirmation process has taken longer than anyone anticipated and we are thankful for the diligence of our consulting metallurgists. This delay in reporting should not be interpreted as anything other than our attempt to confirm, without question, the market value of the Stage I and II drilling programs.
Smith reports: "Metallurgical research is active and ongoing, focused on two alternative extraction methods that have provided preliminary indications of possible improved gold-platinum group metal results. Because independent third-party laboratory verification of these preliminary results has not yet been achieved, El Capitan Precious Metals Inc. has continued to insist on such verifications prior to releasing results. Four independent laboratories are now engaged in the verification test work on the two alternative extraction methods. These two methods are not in common usage in the mining industry. For this reason, coordination of the test work between the four laboratories has been challenging and laborious but steady progress is being made. Results will be released as soon as verification of one or both of the methods has been achieved."
Ken Pavlich of Pavlich Associates, engaged by the company to assist with the marketing and planned sale of the El Capitan property, stated: "Last fall the management believed that the characteristics of the deposit had been sufficiently identified to allow for the full value of the property to be recovered for the shareholders. However, during the preparation of due diligence information late in the year, geological and metallurgical evidence was uncovered that convinced the company that moving forward with a transaction prior to the completion of further drilling and metallurgical evaluation could result in significant foregone shareholder value."
The company has fully supported the efforts of the metallurgical laboratories and geologists engaged with completing these tasks. Pavlich continued: "While the delays have been unexpected, they have not been disappointing. The team of professionals assisting with these efforts is confident that the combination of the ongoing drilling and metallurgical investigations will assure that El Capitan shareholders receive the full benefit of the deposit's value. The company is committed to take whatever time is needed to achieve an appropriate and professional level of confidence in both the size and grade of the deposit before placing the property on the market."
Stages I and II were drilled into a deposit that exhibited no boundaries. Stage III drilling is going to be an attempt to define these boundaries by stepping out in a systematic way from the previous drill holes. The company has entered into an agreement with Earth Search Science to perform a hyperspectral survey in order to assess the possibility that additional deposits, as yet unrecognized, may exist within the recently claimed 10,000 acre (16 square miles) area that surrounds the current deposit. The hyperspectral survey is pure exploration; it may or may not assist in targeting holes in the immediate area of the current deposit.
It is expected that Earth Search will make their survey during the third week in February and that the Stage III drilling will commence very shortly after that. Information on these activities will be released to the public as they are received.
El Capitan Precious Metals Inc. is an exploration stage company that owns a 40% interest in the El Capitan mine located near Capitan, N.M., as well as a joint venture and 20% ownership of 13 mining claims and other assets known as the C.O.D. mine located near Kingman, Ariz. In addition, the company owns contractual rights to the Rainbow Valley mine consisting of 1660 acres and 100% of the Weaver mine, both near Phoenix.
The statements included in this press release concerning predictions of economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the results of metallurgical testing, the ability to mine precious and other minerals on a cost effective basis, the company's ability to successfully complete contracts for the sale of its iron ore and other products; fluctuations in world market prices for the company's products; competition from iron ore producers worldwide, which producers have greater resources and more established operations than those of the company; the company's ability to arrange transportation from its mining properties to ocean ports on satisfactory terms; the company's ability to obtain or maintain regulatory approvals; the company's ability to obtain financing for the commencement of mining activities on satisfactory terms; the company's ability to obtain necessary financing; and other risks and uncertainties described in the company's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any obligation to update its forward-looking statements.
El Capitan Precious Metals Inc.
Ron Perkins, 480-607-7093
www.elcapitanpmi.com
07:00 EST Tuesday, February 21, 2006
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Business Wire) -- El Capitan Precious Metals Inc. (OTCBB:ECPN) reports shareholder letter from Charles C. Mottley, company president and CEO:
To: Company Shareholders
We are all awaiting the publishing of the "Final Report" on the Stage II drilling project which inferred more than 37,000,000 tons of mineralization of gold and platinum group metals in the El Capitan property.
The final results on the original study referenced earlier and conducted by Dr. Clyde Smith, the company's consulting geologist, will be issued as soon as all of the data has been verified by the team of professionals working on this complex project. To insure accuracy beyond interpretation, independent metallurgists reporting to Smith are confirming their final results multiple times. This confirmation process has taken longer than anyone anticipated and we are thankful for the diligence of our consulting metallurgists. This delay in reporting should not be interpreted as anything other than our attempt to confirm, without question, the market value of the Stage I and II drilling programs.
Smith reports: "Metallurgical research is active and ongoing, focused on two alternative extraction methods that have provided preliminary indications of possible improved gold-platinum group metal results. Because independent third-party laboratory verification of these preliminary results has not yet been achieved, El Capitan Precious Metals Inc. has continued to insist on such verifications prior to releasing results. Four independent laboratories are now engaged in the verification test work on the two alternative extraction methods. These two methods are not in common usage in the mining industry. For this reason, coordination of the test work between the four laboratories has been challenging and laborious but steady progress is being made. Results will be released as soon as verification of one or both of the methods has been achieved."
Ken Pavlich of Pavlich Associates, engaged by the company to assist with the marketing and planned sale of the El Capitan property, stated: "Last fall the management believed that the characteristics of the deposit had been sufficiently identified to allow for the full value of the property to be recovered for the shareholders. However, during the preparation of due diligence information late in the year, geological and metallurgical evidence was uncovered that convinced the company that moving forward with a transaction prior to the completion of further drilling and metallurgical evaluation could result in significant foregone shareholder value."
The company has fully supported the efforts of the metallurgical laboratories and geologists engaged with completing these tasks. Pavlich continued: "While the delays have been unexpected, they have not been disappointing. The team of professionals assisting with these efforts is confident that the combination of the ongoing drilling and metallurgical investigations will assure that El Capitan shareholders receive the full benefit of the deposit's value. The company is committed to take whatever time is needed to achieve an appropriate and professional level of confidence in both the size and grade of the deposit before placing the property on the market."
Stages I and II were drilled into a deposit that exhibited no boundaries. Stage III drilling is going to be an attempt to define these boundaries by stepping out in a systematic way from the previous drill holes. The company has entered into an agreement with Earth Search Science to perform a hyperspectral survey in order to assess the possibility that additional deposits, as yet unrecognized, may exist within the recently claimed 10,000 acre (16 square miles) area that surrounds the current deposit. The hyperspectral survey is pure exploration; it may or may not assist in targeting holes in the immediate area of the current deposit.
It is expected that Earth Search will make their survey during the third week in February and that the Stage III drilling will commence very shortly after that. Information on these activities will be released to the public as they are received.
El Capitan Precious Metals Inc. is an exploration stage company that owns a 40% interest in the El Capitan mine located near Capitan, N.M., as well as a joint venture and 20% ownership of 13 mining claims and other assets known as the C.O.D. mine located near Kingman, Ariz. In addition, the company owns contractual rights to the Rainbow Valley mine consisting of 1660 acres and 100% of the Weaver mine, both near Phoenix.
The statements included in this press release concerning predictions of economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the results of metallurgical testing, the ability to mine precious and other minerals on a cost effective basis, the company's ability to successfully complete contracts for the sale of its iron ore and other products; fluctuations in world market prices for the company's products; competition from iron ore producers worldwide, which producers have greater resources and more established operations than those of the company; the company's ability to arrange transportation from its mining properties to ocean ports on satisfactory terms; the company's ability to obtain or maintain regulatory approvals; the company's ability to obtain financing for the commencement of mining activities on satisfactory terms; the company's ability to obtain necessary financing; and other risks and uncertainties described in the company's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any obligation to update its forward-looking statements.
El Capitan Precious Metals Inc.
Ron Perkins, 480-607-7093
www.elcapitanpmi.com