Selwyn Resources hires financial advisor as it advances Yukon project

Selwyn Resources (CVE:SWN) said Monday it has retained a specialist corporate finance mining firm to act as its financial advisor as the company prepares to move into the next phase of development at its Selwyn project in the Yukon.
Cutfield Freeman & Co. will help Selwyn in evaluating its financing and strategic options relating to the Selwyn zinc-lead project, which is held in a joint venture between Selwyn and Chihong Canada Mining.
Chihong is a subsidiary of Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co. of China.
As part of the mandate, Cutfield will consider all financing alternatives including debt, equity and other financial instruments, as well as concentrate offtake-related finance, partnership arrangements and the company's corporate options.
The review is designed to help the company as it assesses its options and responsibilities in the execution of the joint venture agreement with Chihong, it said.
"We are pleased to be moving into this new stage of the Selwyn Project," said CEO Dr. Harlan Meade.
"The appointment of CF&Co adds to our already experienced team and allows us to review and assess a wide range of options as we move forward together with Chihong in the development of the Selwyn Project."
Selwyn's Scotia Mine in Nova Scotia is expected to provide the company with cash flow for advancing the Selwyn property in the Yukon.
The Selwyn project is believed to host the largest undeveloped zinc-lead deposit in the world, with initial mine development to focus on 16.06 million tonnes of indicated mineral resources grading 10.06% zinc and 4.23% lead, and 26.7 million tonnes grading 8.81% zinc and 2.81% lead.
Initial mine production is forecast at 255,000 tonnes per year of zinc and 65,000 tonnes per year of lead in concentrate, starting early 2015, coinciding with forecast shortfalls in mine supply.
Last November, Selwyn said that the initial proposed work for the feasibility study is nearing completion, but the joint venture decided to expand the scope of the study, with a range of additional programs now being considered, including the confirmation of potentially significant new mineral resources at the Don deposit.
Refinements to the feasibility study will focus on the reduction of operating costs in the mill, impacts on the mine plan and optimization of the mining sequence, with the finalization of the feasibility study now expected in late 2012.