SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwired - February 06, 2017) - TriStar Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: TSG) (the "Company" or "TriStar") announces that Brazil's Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral ("DNPM") has reviewed TriStar's Final Exploration Report (the "Report") for the main concession of the Castelo de Sonhos gold project. The recommendation from DNPM officials is for approval of the Report, subject to an agreement on the reduction of the area of the concession.
"This is wonderful news for the project," says Nick Appleyard, TriStar's President and CEO, "because it is a large step forward in converting the central part of the project area from an exploration concession to a mining concession."
Final DNPM approval commonly requires that companies submit a proposal for new legal boundaries for the concession that will delimit the area where the reported resources lie. TriStar's proposal, which has already been submitted to DNPM and awaits their review, removes the eastern third of the original mineral concession, and retains all of the area on the Castelo de Sonhos plateau where gold mineralization has been identified (Figure 1).
The DNPM approval pertains to concession 850329/2002 (see Figure 1). Gold mineralization at Castelo de Sonhos spans parts of four other mineral concessions, all of which are held by TriStar's 100%-owned Brazilian subsidiary, Mineração Castelo dos Sonhos Ltda. For three of these concessions (850310/2011, 850311/211 and 850784/2009) Final Exploration Reports will be submitted to DNPM in Q3 of 2017. For the fourth concession, its Final Exploration Report is not due until 2022.
Under the regulatory and permitting system administered by DNPM in Brazil, once a concession's Final Exploration Report has been approved, the holder has one year to submit the Plano de Aproveitamento Economico (Economic Exploitation Plan) required to convert an exploration concession to a mining concession. Once a mining concession is established, an environmental impact study and an application for an operational permit follow. Once these milestones are achieved, groups of contiguous concessions can be consolidated into a single operating mine.
About TriStar:
TriStar Gold is an exploration and development company focused on precious metals properties in the Americas that have potential to become significant producing mines. The Company's current flagship property is Castelo de Sonhos in Pará State, Brazil. The Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol TSG. Further information is available at www.tristargold.com.
