Pan American Silver comments on draft mining legislation submitted to Chubut's provincial parliament

Pan American Silver Corp.

today reported that, as expected, the governor of the province of Chubut, Argentina, Martin Buzzi, has submitted to the provincial legislature a draft law which, if passed, will regulate all future oil & gas and mining activities in the province. The draft legislation will be subject to review and possible modification by a parliamentary sub-committee, after which it will be submitted to the full legislature for debate and vote. Pan American's Navidad project is located in Chubut. After two and a half years of patient and diligent work to advance the Navidad project into the development phase, Pan American was initially pleased to find that the draft legislation incorporated the expected zoning of the province, allowing for the development of Navidad as an open pit mine. However, this same draft legislation also introduces a series of new regulations that will greatly increase royalties on, and impose economic participation by the province in all mining projects, including Navidad.