defa14a
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy
Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Filed by
the Registrant x
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant o
Check the appropriate box:
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Preliminary Proxy Statement |
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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
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Definitive Proxy Statement |
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Definitive Additional Materials |
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Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12 |
COEUR DALENE MINES CORPORATION
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
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No fee required. |
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Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11. |
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Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: |
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Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: |
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(3) |
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Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act
Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was
determined): |
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Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: |
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Total fee paid: |
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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. |
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Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2)
and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the
previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its
filing. |
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Amount Previously Paid: |
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Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: |
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Filing Party: |
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Date Filed: |
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Press Release
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Source: Coeur dAlene Mines Corporation |
Coeur and Palmarejo Silver and Gold File Preliminary Assessment for Palmarejo Silver & Gold
Project
Wednesday September 5, 9:00 am ET
COEUR DALENE, Idaho & LONGUEUIL, Quebec(BUSINESS WIRE)Coeur dAlene Mines Corporation
(NYSE:CDE News; TSX:CDM News; Coeur) and Palmarejo Silver and Gold Corporation (TSX-V:PJO News; Palmarejo) announced today that a preliminary assessment report has been filed on the
Palmarejo Project located in Northern Mexico. The purpose of this report is to provide details of
the scoping study completed by Coeur that assumes mining at the Palmarejo Project takes place by
both open pit and underground mining methods.
Under this scenario, annual production at the Palmarejo Project is anticipated to begin initially
by open pit mining methods in late 2008. During the initial five years of operations, production is
expected to average approximately 10.4 million ounces of recovered silver and 115,000 ounces of
recovered gold with average cash operating costs of negative $0.41 per ounce of silver after gold
by-product credits.
The production and cost profiles highlighted above are based on the mining of the following mineral
resources within the Palmarejo deposit area only:
Open Pit
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Contained Ounces |
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Tonnes |
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Au (g/t) |
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Ag (g/t) |
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Gold |
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Silver |
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Measured + Indicated |
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4,503,000 |
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1.63 |
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213 |
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236,607 |
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30,782,587 |
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Inferred |
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238,000 |
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1.95 |
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254 |
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14,923 |
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1,943,779 |
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Underground |
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Measured + Indicated |
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5,360,000 |
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3.06 |
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239 |
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527,524 |
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41,255,251 |
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Inferred |
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151,000 |
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3.03 |
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283 |
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14,711 |
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1,374,041 |
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Assumed metals prices were $550 per ounce for gold and $10 per ounce for silver. Cut-off grades were 50 g/t Ag equivalent for open pit
mineral resources and 106 g/t Ag equivalent for underground.
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
For comparison, the total current mineral resources at the Palmarejo Project, including the
nearby Guadalupe and La Patria deposits, are as follows:
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Contained Ounces |
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Tonnes |
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Au (g/t) |
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Ag (g/t) |
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Gold |
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Silver |
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Palmarejo (1) |
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Measured |
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5,400,000 |
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2.22 |
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200 |
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384,000 |
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34,600,000 |
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Indicated |
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9,100,000 |
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2.00 |
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186 |
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587,000 |
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54,660,000 |
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Subtotal |
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14,500,000 |
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971,000 |
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89,260,000 |
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Inferred |
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4,000,000 |
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1.31 |
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138 |
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169,000 |
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17,930,000 |
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Guadalupe (2) |
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Inferred |
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5,700,000 |
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0.83 |
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106 |
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155,000 |
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19,570,000 |
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La Patria (3) |
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Inferred |
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3,600,000 |
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1.49 |
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35 |
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171,000 |
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4,030,000 |
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(1) |
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0.8 g/t Au equivalent cut-off Source: Palmarejo Updated Resource
Statement dated October 24, 2006. |
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0.8 g/t Au equivalent cut-off applied above 1,300 meter elevation
and a 3 g/t Au equivalent cut-off applied below 1,300 meter
elevation. Source: Palmarejo Initial Resource Statement for Guadalupe
dated October 24, 2006. |
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0.8 g/t Au equivalent cut-off. Source: Palmarejo Initial Mineral
Resource Statement for the La Patria Project dated January 16, 2007. |
The study also confirms the earlier reported construction cost estimates of approximately
$200 million to achieve commercial production at the Palmarejo Project, including pre-stripping,
underground development, mining fleet, power line, ongoing permitting, owners costs and
contingency.
A technical report describing the preliminary assessment is available under the Palmarejo profile
on the Canadian Securities Administration website at www.sedar.com.
On May 3, 2007, Coeur, Bolnisi Gold NL, and Palmarejo announced that they entered into agreements,
which were approved unanimously by their respective boards of directors, as well as a special
committee of independent directors of the Palmarejo board of directors, to merge. Pursuant to the
agreements, Coeur will acquire all of the shares of Bolnisi, and all the shares of Palmarejo not
owned by Bolnisi, in a transaction valued at approximately US$1.1 billion. As previously reported,
the companies expect the transaction to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.
About Coeur dAlene Mines
Coeur dAlene Mines Corporation is one of the worlds leading primary silver producers and a
growing gold producer. The company has mining interests in Alaska, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia,
Chile, Nevada, and Tanzania. In 2006, Coeur produced 12.8 million ounces of silver and 116,000
ounces of gold. Cash costs in 2006 were $3.33 per ounce of silver for 2006.
About Bolnisi
Bolnisi Gold NL is an Australia-based company engaged in mining and exploration for gold and
minerals. The Companys activities are all Mexican precious metals operations with an existing
portfolio of projects, which include the Palmarejo Silver-Gold project (including Trogan),
Chihuahua; the Yecora Gold-Silver project, Sonora, and the El Realito Gold-Silver project,
Chihuahua.
About Palmarejo
Palmarejo Silver And Gold Corporation is a silver/gold exploration company listed on the TSX
Venture Exchange under the symbol PJO. Palmarejos principal activity is to explore and develop
gold and silver properties located in the Temoris District of Chihuahua, Mexico within the Sierra
Madre Occidental mountain range.
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation
in the United States and Canada, including statements regarding the terms and conditions of the
proposed transaction and anticipated operating results. Such statements are subject to numerous
assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of Coeur or Palmarejo, as the
case may be. Operating, exploration and financial data, and other statements in this press release
are based on information that Coeur or Palmarejo, as the case may be, believes is reasonable, but
involve significant uncertainties affecting the business of Coeur or Palmarejo, as the case may be,
including, but not limited to, future gold and silver prices, costs, ore grades, estimation of gold
and silver reserves, mining and processing conditions, construction schedules, currency exchange
rates, and the completion and/or updating of mining feasibility studies, changes that could result
from future acquisitions of new mining properties or businesses, the risks and hazards inherent in
the mining business (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, weather or geologically
related conditions), regulatory and permitting matters, risks inherent in the ownership and
operation of, or investment in, mining properties or businesses in foreign countries, as well as
other uncertainties and risk factors set out in filings made from time to time with the SEC and the
Ontario Securities Commission, including, without limitation, Coeurs reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and
Palmarejos Annual Information Form. Additionally, there are risks that the parties will not
proceed with the proposed transaction, that the ultimate terms of the proposed transaction will
differ from those that currently are contemplated, and that the proposed transaction will be not be
successfully completed for any reason (including the failure to obtain the required approvals or
clearances from regulatory authorities). Actual results, developments and timetables could vary
significantly from the estimates presented. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. Coeur and Palmarejo disclaim any intent or obligation to update
publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Additionally, Coeur and Palmarejo undertake no obligation to comment on analyses,
expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of Coeur and Palmarejo, their financial
or operating results or their securities or the proposed transaction.
Additional Information
The proxy statement that Coeur plans to file with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) and Canadian securities regulators and mail to its shareholders will contain
information about Coeur, Bolnisi, Palmarejo, the Palmarejo Project, the proposed transaction and
related matters. Shareholders are urged to read the proxy statement carefully when it is available,
as it will contain important information that shareholders should consider before making a decision
about the proposed transaction. In addition to receiving the proxy statement from Coeur by mail,
shareholders will also be able to obtain the proxy statement, as well as other filings containing
information about Coeur, without charge, from the SECs website (www.sec.gov) and the Canadian
securities regulators website (www.sedar.com) or, without charge, from Coeur. This announcement is
neither a solicitation of a proxy, an offer to purchase, nor a solicitation of an offer to sell
shares of Coeur. Coeur and its executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participants in
the solicitation of proxies from Coeurs shareholders with respect to the proposed transaction.
Information regarding any interests that Coeurs executive officers and directors may have in the
proposed transaction will be set forth in the proxy statement. The Coeur shares to be issued in the
proposed transaction have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable
exemption from registration requirements. Coeur intends to issue such Coeur shares pursuant to the
exemption from registration set forth in Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Act.
Technical Information
The preliminary assessment is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that
are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them
that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the
preliminary assessment will be realized. The basis of the preliminary assessment and the
qualifications and assumptions made by the authors of the preliminary assessment are included in
the Technical Report filed concurrently with this press release.
The information in this report that relates to production and cost profiles is based on information
compiled by Neil B. Prenn of Mine Development Associates, Reno, Nevada who is a Registered Mining
Engineer in the State of Nevada, a Member of the Society of Mining Engineers and councilor-at-large
for the Mining and Metallurgy Society of America and a Qualified Person by Canadian National
Instrument 43-101 standards. Neil B. Prenn has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style
of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is
undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the Australasian
Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Neil B. Prenn has
consented to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and
context in which it appears.
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Mineral
Reserves is based on information compiled by Michael M. Gustin of Mine Development Associates,
Reno, Nevada who is a Registered Geologist in the States of Utah and Washington and a Qualified
Person by Canadian 43-101 standards and by Kenneth M. Phillips, geologist of VOP Mining Services
Pty Ltd and a Director of Bolnisi Gold NL, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy and a Qualified Person by Canadian 43-101 standards. Kenneth M. Phillips has
sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under
consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as
defined in the 2004 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves. Kenneth M. Phillips has consented to the inclusion in this report of
the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Copies of the merger implementation agreements and certain related documents will be filed with the
SEC and Canadian securities regulators and will be available at the SECs website at www.sec.gov
and at the Canadian securities regulators website at www.sedar.com.
Contact:
Coeur:
Director Investor Relations
Tony Ebersole, 208-771-0150
or
Senior Vice President Corporate Development
Mitchell J. Krebs, 888-545-1138
or
Bolnisi:
Norman Seckold, Chairman, 011-61-2-9247-5300
or
Palmarejo:
James Crombie, President & CEO, 450-677-2253
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Source: Coeur dAlene Mines Corporation |