Silver Bear has received a certificate of first discovery from the Federal Russian Authorities allowing it to file a formal application for a mining license at its Vertikalny deposit in Yakutia, Russia.
The Vertikalny deposit contains a mineral resource estimate of 1.1 million tons containing 17.9 million ounces of silver at 518 Ag/t of indicated mineralization and 1.7 million tons containing 30.5 million ounces silver at 562 g/t AG of inferred mineralization.
The company has also applied for a license granting them extension for the exploration of possible areas outside the Vertikalny resource. The current license will expire at the end of the year.
“This represents a significant move forward on our licensing efforts in Russia and reflects the dedicated efforts of our team in Russia and Toronto to secure this positive outcome,” Mark Trevisiol, the president and CEO of Silver Bear, said. “The granting of the certificate further supports efforts with Russian authorities to approve our exploration license extension for the areas outside of the Vertikalny resource. Management of the Company believes that these developments build significant momentum for Silver Bear on the licensing front.”
Silver Bear is recovering from a net loss on the first six months of the year. In the period ending June 30, the company was down $6.44 million, or $0.14 per share, compared to a loss of $2.01 million, or $0.05 per share, for the same period a year earlier.
The company’s exploration costs were far greater in 2012, at $4.38 million as compared to $0.78 million the year before. The increase was in preparation for the summer drilling program. Additionally, general and administrative expenses rose to $1.29 million from $0.75 million. Non-cash items for the six month period ending June 3 came to $0.67 million compared with $0.54 million in the six month period ending June 30, 2011. Interest income in 2012 was at $.0.01 million whereas it was at $0.06 million in 2011.
As of June 30, 2012, Silver Bear had cash and cash equivalents of $0.84 million. The company is expected to require additional funding, as their obligations amount to $0.57 million under a three year finance lease of exploration equipment.