Toronto, Ontario and Lima, Peru, March 24 2008 –Norsemont Mining Inc. (“the Company”) (TSX: NOM, BVL: NOM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Gaston Loyola as Vice President of Exploration.
Mr. Loyola is an economic geologist with 20 years of experience in different geological environments around the world including Peru, Chile, Ecuador, China, Mexico, Canada and the USA. More specifically Gaston is a highly motivated geologist with a thorough understanding of copper porphyry and related gold systems and extensive evaluation experience of porphyry copper and skarn prospects in the Andahuaylas-Yauri belt in Peru.
During his extensive career Gaston has worked with Empresa Minera Especial Tintaya, Cyprus, Phelps Dodge, Anglo American and South Western Gold. Gaston has a Master of Science degree from Queen’s University, Canada.
Commenting, Norsemont’s President, Bob Baxter, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Gaston Loyola to the company. Gaston’s extensive experience and leadership skills will be important to Norsemont as we reach another phase in the exploration program on the Constancia Copper Project. As of today Norsemont continues to explore the project with six diamond drill rigs working on a two shift, seven day a week basis. We expect that by early April we will have initiated a 190 line kilometre program of ground magnetics and induced polarisation geophysics designed to enhance our understanding of our property holdings in the area. We have been exploring an area of less than 900 hectares of our 5,146 hectare project for the last three years and now have an additional 18,000 hectares in the application phase.”
About Norsemont Mining
Norsemont Mining is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on the Constancia Cu-Mo-Ag deposit in southern Peru. Norsemont currently controls an undivided 81% interest in the Constancia Project, which interest is set to increase to 100% by March 31, 2008 through a final option payment of US$8M to Rio Tinto.
The Constancia Project has a 43-101 compliant indicated resource of 70M tonnes at 0.53% Cu (0.8 Billion lbs Cu) and an inferred resource of 250.2M tonnes at 0.51% Cu (2.8 Billion lbs Cu). A recently completed scoping study anticipates a project producing in excess of 90,000 tonnes of copper annually. The study indicates the project has a net present value of $530 million and an internal rate of return of 25.3 percent. The following long-term commodity price assumptions were used in the study: copper $1.80 per pound, molybdenum $12 per pound and silver $11 per ounce. The full study, dated December 11, 2008, and titled “Preliminary Assessment of the Constancia Project, Department of Cusco, Peru” is available for viewing on SEDAR.
The technical information provided in this press release was reviewed and approved by Robert. W. Baxter (MAusIMM), the President and a director of the Company and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
For more information please contact:
Patrick Evans
Norsemont Mining
Phone: 416-670-5114
E-Mail: investors@norsemont.com
Web Site: www.norsemont.com
