Hochschild Regulatory News (HOC)

13 Aug 2007 07:01

Hochschild Mining PLC13 August 2007 13 August 2007 Hochschild Mining plc commences production at the Moris mine in Mexico • Commencement of production at the Moris mine in Mexico marks another important milestone and our successful entry into a third country • Capacity at the crushing plant has been expanded to 3,000 tonnes per day and the ADR plant has been refurbished • In the course of 2007, Hochschild is expanding from three operations in one country to six operations in three countries, Peru, Argentina and Mexico • Hochschild is on track to reach its production target of 26 million silver equivalent attributable ounces in 2007 (14 million silver attributable ounces and 200 thousand gold attributable ounces) Eduardo Hochschild, Chairman of Hochschild Mining plc, said, "The Moris mine is a significant first step for developing our presence inMexico. Moris provides us with a sizable land package in a mineral rich regionof the world. We are excited about the surrounding surface and undergroundpotential of this site, which we are currently exploring." Hochschild Mining plc ("Hochschild") is pleased to announce that it hascommenced production at the Moris mine. The operation, located in Chihuahua,Mexico, is an open pit silver and gold mine covering an area of approximately7,838 hectares. Moris was operated by Minera Manhattan S.A. de C.V. between 1996and 1999. It is currently a joint venture between Moris Holding S.A. de C.V.(70%), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hochschild, and EXMIN S.A. de C.V. (30%), awholly-owned subsidiary of EXMIN Resources Inc. ("EXMIN") and is operated byHochschild. Along with the mine, we acquired a crushing plant and have expanded its capacityfrom 1,500 tonnes per day to 3,000 tonnes per day. We also acquired an ADR(Adsorption-Desorption-Recovery) plant which we have refurbished. The ADR plantis used to produce dore once the ore has been crushed and leached on the leachpads. In addition, we have refurbished one existing pad and are in the processof building five additional pads. Throughput capacity at Moris will be 1.06million tonnes per annum. Although Moris is currently operating with an open pit mine, we see significantopportunities in the underground potential and geological characteristics of thesurrounding 71,000 hectare property package we own, with our partner EXMIN. Our second major mine in Mexico will be the San Felipe project in Sonora whichis targeted to come into production at the end of 2009. In Mexico we now have aregional office in Monterrey and an exploration office in San Luis Potosi.Following our Strategic Alliance with EXMIN and the commencement of productionat Moris, we are positioned favorably to create future value for ourshareholders through exploration in Mexico. Consistent with the Hochschild approach to corporate social responsibility wehave made significant progress in gaining the support of the surroundingcommunities most notably the adjacent town of Moris. The Moris operationdirectly employs 48 professionals as well as approximately 90 front line workersfrom the surrounding area. EnquiriesHochschild Mining plcWray Barber +44 (0)20 7152 6014Head of Investor Relations FinsburyRobin Walker +44 (0)20 7251 3801Public Relations About Moris The Moris mine, located in Chihuahua, Mexico, is an open pit silver and goldmine covering an area of approximately 7,838 hectares. Moris was operated byMinera Manhattan S.A. de C.V. between 1996 and 1999. It is currently a jointventure between Moris Holding S.A. de C.V. (70%), a wholly-owned subsidiary ofHochschild, and EXMIN S.A. de C.V. ("EXMIN") (30%) and is operated byHochschild. The operation consists of an open pit mine, a 3,000 tonne per daycrushing plant and an ADR (Adsorption-Desorption-Recovery) plant used to producedore. The mineralization at Moris represents low sulphidation quartz-sulphideepithermal veins with gold and silver values. About Hochschild Mining plc Hochschild Mining plc (HOC.L for Reuters / HOC LN for Bloomberg) is a publiclyheld company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Hochschild is a leadingprecious metals company with a primary focus on the exploration, mining,processing and sale of silver and gold. Hochschild currently operates fourunderground epithermal vein mines, three located in southern Peru and one insouthern Argentina and one open pit mine in northern Mexico. Hochschild also hasone early stage development project in Mexico. In addition, Hochschild has overtwenty long-term prospects throughout Latin America and has over forty yearsexperience in the mining of precious metal epithermal vein deposits. For further information please visit www.hochschildmining.com About EXMIN EXMIN Resources Inc. (EXMIN) (EXM:TSX-V) is currently focused on the explorationand development of precious metal properties of exceptional merit in the SierraMadre gold belt of Northwestern Mexico as well as in other highly mineralizedareas of Mexico. The company controls more than 2000 square miles of concessionsin several mining districts. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange