Bear Creek Announces The Filing Of Legal Actions To Protect Its Santa Ana Silver Deposit In Peru

VANCOUVER, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Bear Creek Mining (TSXV: BCM) (BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") reports that it has filed an application for a Constitutional injunction in Peru, known as an Amparo, against the Peruvian Government. The objective of the legal actions are to seek injunctive relief against the cancellation of the Company's rights to its Santa Ana mineral concessions until a court determines whether the Peruvian Government violated the Company's constitutional rights when it issued a Presidential Supreme Decree in June 2011 that resulted in the cancellation of the Company's authorization to own the Santa Ana mineral concessions.

The Company and its legal advisors continue to maintain that it has complied with all legal requirements and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") procedures, including public consultations which exceeded the requirements of the law.  The Company maintains that there was no basis for modifying the Presidential Supreme Decree granted to Bear Creek in 2007 which granted the Company titles to the mineral concessions in full accordance with the law.

Mr. Andrew Swarthout, Bear Creek CEO, stated "Despite the measures taken recently by the Peruvian government which has forced Bear Creek to take legal action to defend its rights under the law, the Company believes that a political solution is yet possible.  Santa Ana exemplifies exactly the kind of environmentally sound mining project that the country needs to achieve the goal of further reducing poverty in Peru.  Therefore, we see an opportunity with the incoming government by expressing our commitment to being a part of Peru's solution to poverty issues.  Every effort is being made by the Company to assist the national and local authorities in reaching a solution, while respecting our local communities' desire for Bear Creek to build the Santa Ana Project as demonstrated by their strong support and ratification, after more than 100 public meetings and workshops, at the final formal public hearing on February 23, 2011."

The Santa Ana deposit ESIA is based on a project design incorporating international standards of environmental safeguards utilizing a zero-discharge heap leach project design.  In addition to having no discharge, the project is located in a separate hydrologic basin from Lake Titicaca, so the potential for contamination of Lake Titicaca is a misconception.   The ESIA also incorporates strong commitments to social sustainability and benefits to local communities including job training, agricultural, educational and health improvement programs. The Santa Ana project will provide 1,000 direct jobs, 1,500 indirect jobs, and provide over US$330 million in royalties and taxes for the Peruvian people and our surrounding communities at the current silver price, and current tax and royalty structure.

About Bear Creek: 

Bear Creek Mining has completed a Pre-Feasibility Study on its Corani Silver Project and is currently in the process of completing a feasibility study. The Pre-feasibility study showed that the Corani Project could produce up to 10 million ounces of silver per year and with the new feasibility study being prepared at a 50% greater processing rate, the project is expected to produce up to 15 million ounces per year during its 20 year mine life.  Additionally, the Corani project is well endowed with both lead and zinc, so by-product credits will result in low or negative cash costs per ounce of silver.  A Feasibility Study for Santa Ana project was completed in the fall of 2010 and defined a low-cost "pure silver" mine producing 5 million ounces annually in the first six years of an estimated 11-year mine life (subject to the disclosure from June 25 ^th 2011 press release).  Together both projects contain measured and indicated resources in excess of 500 million ounces of silver of which over 320 million ounces are in proven and probable reserves.

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