Casablanca Mining Subsidiary Granted Electro Mining Patent in China

Casablanca Mining Subsidiary Granted Electro Mining Patent in China

CASABLANCA MINING (OTCQB:CUAU) announced today that the China Patent Office granted a patent for the electro-mining technology owned by Fast Cooper. Casablanca Mining’s subsidiary Santa Teresa Minerals, S.A. owns 60% of Fast Cooper. Patents for the electro-mining process have been issued in Chile, South Africa and China and are pending in the United States, Canada, Australia and Brazil.

This patented process is significantly faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly than traditional copper extraction. Traditionally, copper has been extracted from raw material using the following method:

Copper bearing minerals are concentrated from crushed ores by froth flotation or bioleaching. Heating this material with silica in flash smelting removes much of the iron as slag. The process converts iron sulfides into oxides, which in turn react with the silica to form the silicate slag, which floats on top of the heated mass. The resulting copper matte is then roasted to convert all sulfides into oxides. The cuprous oxide is converted to blister copper upon heating. This step reduces the copper oxide to copper metal. Natural gas is blown across the blister to remove most of the remaining oxygen and electro-refining is performed on the resulting material to produce pure copper.

The electro-mining technology subject to the patent revolutionizes copper extraction technology by bypassing nearly all of the traditional copper extraction process, which is expensive, time consuming, and environmentally unfriendly, and extracts copper directly from crushed raw material using an electrical and chemical process that allows the copper to diffuse through the raw material and attach to a steel plate submerged in a chemical solution. The process is more environmentally friendly as the chemical solution is contained in plastic tanks and water and acid are recycled in a closed system.

“We have proactively sought to protect our intellectual property on an international level,” said Zirk Engelbrecht, President of Casablanca Mining. “Our patent portfolio is a natural extension of our copper mining operations, as we continually seek to improve the efficiency of our mining operations through technological and industrial innovation. We intend to form copper processing joint ventures as well as license the processing technologies to other copper mining companies.”

According to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG), an intergovernmental organization that serves to increase copper market transparency and promote international discussions and cooperation on issues related to copper, global growth in copper demand for 2011 is expected to exceed global growth in copper production and the annual production deficit, estimated at about 250,000 metric tons of refined copper in 2010, is expected to be about 380,000 tons in 2011. In response to prevailing high copper prices and increased end use demand, production increases are expected at operations curtailed following the 2008 economic crisis and, to a lesser extent, from startup of new operations.

The ICSG predicts that industrial demand in 2011 in all of the major consuming regions will continue the upward trend begun in 2010 and exceed the growth in refined production. According to ICSG data, following a year of 38% growth in 2009, China´s apparent consumption in 2010 grew by 4.3% and accounted for more than 38% of global copper demand. In 2011, ICSG projects the growth rate of around 6%, and world refined copper production for 2011 is projected to increase to 19.7 million tons.

About Casablanca Mining, Ltd.:

Casablanca Mining, through its wholly owned subsidiary Santa Teresa Minerals, S.A., engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in South America. Its gold and copper mining operations are based near Santiago, Chile. Santa Teresa Minerals currently has, directly and indirectly through various equity interests, mining rights in a producing gold mine, “Free Gold,” and in an exploration project, the “Casuto Project,” consisting of Los Azules 1-3, Tauro 1-6, Los Chipi 1-16 and the “New Gold Project,” consisting of Teresitas 1-20 and Los Pinos 1-30. These projects include 80 different mining claims and mineral exploration properties including gold, copper and copper sulfate. Santa Teresa Minerals also owns a 60% equity position of Sociedad Sulfatos Chile S.A., a copper sulfate production project that owns the Anica Copper Mines, and a 60% equity position in a company with the rights to a revolutionary mining technology that extracts gold, silver and copper from raw mining materials using a proprietary and patented electrolysis method of electro-mining.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including expected industry patterns and other financial and business results and estimates that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results or estimates expressed or implied by this press release. Such risk factors include, among others: whether Casablanca Mining can successfully execute its operating plan, including mining and exploration projects; results of exploration, project development and capital costs of mineral properties; volatility of market prices for gold, copper and copper sulfate; Casablanca Mining’s ability to integrate acquired companies and technology; Casablanca Mining’s ability to retain key employees; general market conditions; and other factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in its annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 18, 2011. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release. Casablanca Mining does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

Casablanca Mining, Ltd.
Zirk Engelbrecht, President
619-717-8047
zirk@casablancamining.com