VANCOUVER,
April 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Rathdowney
Resources Ltd. ("Rathdowney" or the "Company") (TSX-V: RTH) is
pleased to provide a report on the progress of its Phase II
activities at the Olza Zinc-Lead-Silver Project in southwest
Poland. Phase II involves
engineering, environmental and community segments, designed to
advance project evaluation and permitting as outlined for projects
in Poland.
Rathdowney's consultants and in-country
specialists have undertaken a thorough assessment of the
requirements under Polish law for permitting. The Rathdowney team
has engaged with local and regional authorities to inform them of
its plans. The permitting process in Poland has several aspects which include an
assessment of geological documentation, consideration of local land
use plans and collection of data for completion of studies
necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment
report. This work is carried out in parallel with deposit
development planning.
A comprehensive appraisal of the historical
data, including that compiled by the Polish government surveys and
that collected during Rathdowney's resource confirmation drilling
in Phase I has been completed in order to determine what data will
best support development of the project. A report documenting the
compilation of both the historical and modern data sets has been
submitted to the Chief Geologist for Poland. Approval of Rathdowney's bid for
the documentation has been received from the Polish government,
securing the Project Olza tenure. The approval also marks
completion of an initial step of the permitting process in
Poland.
Rathdowney has also planned for comprehensive
data collection programs to support engineering studies and the
environmental assessment process. Baseline investigations
(flora, fauna, air, ground and surface water, soil and rock,
climate, land use, protected areas and monuments) have been
designed to characterize existing environmental and social
conditions of the project-area, which will help to establish
pre-project monitoring sites for long term assessment of project
activities, provide critical environmental input to project
engineering and design, and allow for a detailed assessment of the
project effects and mitigation measures.
Key programs have been initiated. One of
the largest is the hydrological study. Specialists from the
AGH Krakow University of Science and Technology ("AGH") in
Poland were engaged to conduct the
hydrological assessment of the Olza resource-area. The
program involves desk top studies as well as a survey of hundreds
of existing hand-dug and drilled wells in the area. To
facilitate the program, Rathdowney's site team and AGH have met
with each of the local landowners to arrange access to the existing
wells from which data on flow rates and chemistry will be
collected. Data will also be collected from surface water bodies.
Once an initial assessment of the regional hydrology has been made,
AGH will propose locations for additional groundwater monitoring
stations, as required. Concurrently, a regional hydrogeological
model will be developed from over 1000 historical drill holes.
This compilation of historical data and new data for Olza is
expected to create one of the most comprehensive hydrological
models in Poland.
More recently, the Company engaged the Polish
NGO Fundacja Przyroda i Człowiek (Nature and Human Foundation) to
carry out flora and fauna studies. These detailed baseline
studies will cover an area of over 100 square kilometres.
Rathdowney began community engagement activities
at Project Olza in 2010. The initial work mainly involved
engagement with government and local landowners in the area of some
225 holes completed by the Company during the initial drilling
phase. An expanded community program began in 2013, encompassing
over 30 meetings with surrounding communities and direct engagement
with local landowners. Some 708 households were contacted in 2013
in order to access sampling sites for the hydrological
program. This ongoing program will also assist with access
for the flora and fauna studies.
President and CEO David
Copeland said "Our Phase II activities are progressing well,
building on the positive results of the resource assessment in
Phase I. With the acceptance of our comprehensive report on
geological documentation, we have secured our project tenure for
the evaluation and permitting phase. Our current focus is on
data collection to support engineering studies and an environmental
assessment report, as well as continued stakeholder
engagement."
About Project Olza
Project Olza is located in the Upper Silesian
Mining District of southwestern Poland, a world-class region of Mississippi
Valley-type deposits with well-developed mining
infrastructure. Easily accessible by road, the Olza project
site is a one-hour drive from Krakow, a major city with full
services, including an international airport. The deposits at
Olza are along strike from the long-life Pomorzany zinc-lead mine
and 30 km from the ZGH zinc smelter at Boleslaw. A railway line to
the smelter runs through the Olza project-area.
Since 2010, Rathdowney has invested some
$16.8 million at Olza. The Company's
Phase I confirmatory drilling program built on the extensive
historical drill database assembled by the Polish State Survey to
delimit 21.2 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources, grading
7.42% combined zinc and lead1, with excellent potential
for resource expansion. Work by Rathdowney also indicates
significant silver concentrations in the Olza mineralization.
These mineral resources provide the foundation for engineering,
environmental baseline and other technical studies necessary for
project planning and permitting.
About Rathdowney
Rathdowney Resources Ltd. is an exploration and
development company focused on advancing the Olza zinc-lead-silver
project in Poland through
permitting and into production. Rathdowney is associated with
Hunter Dickinson Inc. ("HDI") a diversified, global mine
development company with a 25-year history of mineral development
success.
For further details on Rathdowney and Project
Olza, please visit the company website:
www.rathdowneyresources.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
David J. Copeland
President and CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This release includes certain statements that
may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this
release, other than statements of historical facts, that address
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or
developments that the Company expects, are forward looking
statements. Although the Company believes the expectations
expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking
statements include the following: the Olza project will obtain all
required environmental and other permits and all land use and other
licenses, studies and development of the Olza project will continue
to be positive, and no geological or technical problems will
occur. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements include market
prices, potential environmental issues or liabilities associated
with exploration, development and mining activities, exploitation
and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization,
uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits,
licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition,
changes in government policies regarding mining and natural
resource exploration and exploitation, continued availability of
capital and financing, and general economic, market or business
conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company,
investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings
that are available at www.sedar.com.
__________________________________
1 Estimated at a 2.0% zinc cutoff; individual grades are
5.88% zinc and 1.54% lead (see Rathdowney News Release dated
September 11, 2012). Silver was not
analysed during historical drilling so was not included in the
estimate.
SOURCE Rathdowney Resources Ltd.