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There was high-voltage drama in front of the Karnataka Central Diocese on Saturday.
MELBOURNE, July 22 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank(NAB.AX), the country's top lender, said on Wednesday it plansto raise up to A$2.75 billion ($2.25 billion) through a shareplacement to help fund growth opportunities, includingacquisitions The raising follows a A$3 billion share sale last November It said its June quarter cash earnings were A$900 million. Such forward-lookingstatements may include but are not limited to the Company's plans forproduction at its Guanajuato and Topia Mines in Mexico, exploring itsother properties in Mexico, the overall economic potential of itsproperties, the availability of adequate financing and involve known andunknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actualresults, performance or achievements expressed or implied by suchforward-looking statements to be materially different. and Vice-President of Exploration for GreatPanther and MMR is designated as the Qualified Person for the Topia MineProject under the meaning of NI 43-101, and has reviewed this newsrelease.ON BEHALF OF THE BOARDRobert A. Archer, President & CEOThis news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaningof the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 andforward-looking information within the meaning of the Securities Act(Ontario) (together, "forward-looking statements"). The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion ofblanks, splits and standards into the sample shipments. Aspects of theTopia Mine relating to mining and metallurgy are overseen by CharlesBrown, Chief Operating Officer for Great Panther and its wholly ownedMexican subsidiary, Minera Mexicana El Rosario, S.A de C.V (MMR).Robert F Brown, P Eng. Analysis of mine samples is completed on site, with check assaysperformed by SGS Minerals Services, in their Guanajuato, Mexicofacilities.
These estimates will be completed after the current surfacecore drilling program is completed in September 2009, which is focused ondown dip continuity below the present development levels of the sameveins. TheArgentina vein remains open to expansion at depth and for approximately500 metres to the east below old mine workings. As well, development andstoping on the Cantarranas (Hormiguera and San Miguel Mines), El Rosario,San Gregorio, and Recompensa veins will lead to future mineral resourceestimates. Exploration Potential:----------------------------------------------------------------Vein Tonnes Ag AuPb Zn----------------------------------------------------------------Argentina 60,000-80,000 400-600g/t 1-2g/t 4-6% 2-4%----------------------------------------------------------------Don Benito60,000-80,000 300-600g/t 1-4g/t 4-8% 3-6%----------------------------------------------------------------These tonnages include some of the drilling and development completedduring the spring of 2008 (see GPR news releases dated February 19, June2 and June 23, 2008), plus ongoing underground drilling, and couldrepresent another 4-5 years of mine life with further definition. There hasbeen insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource from thesedata to date and it is uncertain if further exploration will result inthe Exploration Potential being delineated as a mineral resource.Table 4. According to NI 43-101,Exploration Potential must be reported as ranges and these are presentedin the following table. The Exploration Potential is conceptual in natureand based on wide spaced exploration drilling at Argentina, andexploration drilling and two development levels at Don Benito.
Several other veins on the property have not yet beendrilled and are not included in any category.Exploration Potential has been estimated in-house for only the Don Benitoand Argentina veins to demonstrate the potential mineral resources inthese areas prior to mine development. As such, the surface drilling is used to determine inferredresources and additional Exploration Potential for the veins. With theincreased confidence in the Argentina Vein data, some of the tonnespreviously included as Exploration Potential have been upgraded to theInferred category. This "rolling resource" is typical forunderground mines as it is often not cost-effective to define a largeresource/reserve in advance of mining.Due to the steep topography and the nature of the narrow veins at Topia,surface drilling is typically widely spaced and is used as a guide forunderground development by locating and confirming structural continuityand grade, while development by drifting, sampling and some undergrounddrilling along the vein defines the measured and indicated mineralresources. Great Panther has already been mining Topia for 3 1/2years and the mine saw 47 years of continuous production prior to that.The Company plans to continue the systematic replacement of annualproduction with new resources. Percentage Increase in Argentina Vein Resources 2009 over 2008:---------------------------------------------------------------------------Category Tonnes Ag ozsAu ozsPb lbsZn lbs Ag oz Eq---------------------------------------------------------------------------M & I Resources 20%32% 46% 23% 20%29%---------------------------------------------------------------------------Inferred Resources101% 160%131%193%214% 168%---------------------------------------------------------------------------At the current production rate of approximately 30,000 tonnes peryear, and considering that not all resources may be mined, managementexpects the resources above to support a mine life at Topia of at least10 more years. This is largely due to the factthat more drill holes can now be incorporated into the inferred category.Table 3.
Contained Metal (all veins):---------------------------------------------------------------------------Category Tonnes Ag ozsAu ozsPb lbsZn lbs Ag oz Eq---------------------------------------------------------------------------M & I Resources173,1033,080,954 5,50721,278,08018,430,8625,458,218---------------------------------------------------------------------------Inferred Resources174,5623,560,237 5,79319,585,85614,746,9985,692,957---------------------------------------------------------------------------The improved understanding of, and confidence in, the Argentinamineralization has led directly to a modest improvement in the measuredand indicated mineral resource but a dramatic increase in the inferredmineral resource as shown in Table 3. The 2009 Argentina vein mineral resource value assumed:(1) the June 1, 2009, concentrate sales contracts with Louis DreyfusCommodities, which are effective until December 31, 2010;(2) average metal prices for April 2009, typical plant recoveries, andgrade capping all shown in Table 1; and(3) 33% mine dilution.Table 2. This isapplicable at Topia since the general and administrative ("G&A") costsare $US25/tonne. Current operating costs for the Argentina vein are$US100/tonne ore mined and processed, and any additional resources to themining plan would require no increase in G&A costs and reduced unitmining costs. When combined with the 2009 Argentina resource,the new total contained metal for each resource category is shown onTable 2.The 2009 mineral resource estimate has increased over that reported in2008 (see GPR news release August 11, 2008 and Tables 2 and 3 below)mainly due to:- a re-interpretation of the drill hole data,- new vein channel sampling data from exploration development on Level 2,- a correction of the survey of old underground workings to surfacetopography,- improved ore grades at Topia (522g/t silver; 0.58g/t gold; 3.26% leadand 4.20% zinc for the year to end of June),- updated and improved metallurgical recoveries, and- improved concentrate sales terms,These contributed to a greater understanding and confidence in theinterpretation of the Argentina vein.Table 1.
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