Vancouver, B.C., March 29, 2011 -- Panoro Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: PML, Lima: PML, Frankfurt: PZM) ("Panoro") is pleased to announce that it has signed a three year community agreement with the indigenous community of Cochapata at its 100% owned Cotabambas Porphyry Copper/Gold Project in Peru. Panoro has now completed agreements with all three indigenous communities, Cochapata, Ccalla and Guaclle, in the region of the Cotabambas project.
With the completion of the community agreement, Panoro is planning to expand its current 5,500 m drill program at the Cotabambas Project. The expanded program will consist of approximately 30 drillholes totaling approximately 20,000m of additional drilling. Its objective will be to delineate the lateral extension of the mineralized zone of the main Ccalla Deposit and to complete infill drilling in areas containing gaps in the current geologic and resource models.
Panoro has retained the services of a specialist consulting firm to prepare the environmental impact assessment for the proposed exploration program. The field work has been completed and the final report for submission to the Ministry of Energy and Mines will be completed in approximately 45 days.
Panoro commenced the initial 5,500m drill program in November 2010 and to date has completed four drill holes for a total of 2,060m. The results for holes CB-34 and CB-35 at the Azulccaca deposit, and CB-36 at the south side of the Ccalla deposit, have been published previously. Drill hole CB-37, located 225m northeast of CB-36 was completed to a depth of 808m and intersected chalcopyrite mineralization from 195m to 417m. Assay results will be reported when received.
The results from holes CB-36 and CB-37 confirm the extension of the Ccalla deposit both to the south and to an additional depth of more than 200m. In addition, these two holes confirm the significance of the high grade intersection in hole CB-25 which was drilled in the same area in 2003 but was not included in the current resource estimate. A third drill hole, CB-38 is currently being drilled 250m southwest of CB-36.
Panoro is carrying out geophysical surveys at the Cotabambas Project to further define the geology of the Ccalla and Azulccaca deposits and their immediate surroundings and possibly to provide additional drill targets. A magnetic survey has been completed over a portion of the property and will now be expanded to include the area within the boundaries of the Cochapata community. An Induced Polarization survey has commenced and should be completed by the end of April.
The drilling is being carried out by Energold Drilling Peru using a man-portable drill rig. All drill cores are being sampled on site and then submitted to ALS laboratory in Lima, Peru for analysis. Fred Tejada, P.Geo, the Company's VP-Exploration is the Qualified Person for this project.
About Panoro
Panoro's strategic focus is to move its advanced stage Copper and Copper/Gold projects to the feasibility and development stages and to explore its other projects. Panoro recently closed a $6.5 million non-brokered private placement positioning the company to continue developing its significant portfolio of exploration projects. The Company's large portfolio includes the advanced Cotabambas Copper-Gold and Antilla Copper-Molybdenum Projects which include NI 43-101 inferred level resources of:
| Cotabambas: | 90 million tonnes @ 0.77% Cu and 0.42 g/t Au (0.4% Cu cutoff, SRK 2007) |
| Antilla: | 154 million tonnes @ 0.47% Cu and 0.009% Mo (0.25% Cu cutoff, AMEC 2009) |
In addition to the exploration program at the Cotabambas Project, the Company will also be carrying out exploration work at its Antilla Copper-Molybdenum Project, Kusiorcco Copper Project and Cochasayhuas Gold Project in 2011. Panoro has ten other exploration properties in Peru and is currently evaluating investment alternatives including joint ventures.
Panoro's significant portfolio of projects is located primarily in the southeastern region of Peru. This region contains a number of important copper and copper/gold deposits including Xstrata's Las Bambas and Antapaccay Copper Projects and the Tintaya Copper Mine. In September 2010, Xstrata announced US$5.7 billion of investment to develop the Las Bambas and Antapaccay projects. The region also includes the Haquira Copper Project, recently acquired by First Quantum Minerals, and the Constancia Copper Project, recently acquired by Hudbay Minerals.
On behalf of the Board of
Panoro Minerals Ltd.
Luquman Shaheen, M.B.A., P.Eng., P.E.
President, CEO and Director
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Panoro Minerals Ltd.
Luquman Shaheen, President & CEO
Phone: 604.684.4246
Fax: 604.684.4200
Email: info@panoro.com
Web: www.panoro.com
Investor Relations
Jim Glass, Ascenta Capital Partners Inc.
Phone: 604.684.4743 ext. 225
Phone: 866.684.4209
Email: jim@ascentacapital.com
This release was prepared by management of the Company who takes full responsibility for its contents. Neither 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.
