June 20, 2012
VANCOUVER, B.C. – International PBX Ventures Ltd. (“PBX” or the "Company") (TSX.V:PBX) announces that effective immediately Mr. George Sookochoff resigns as President but will remain as a director and Chief Executive Officer of PBX. Mr. Terry Lynch of Toronto has accepted the position of President and will also be joining the Board of Directors. Mr. Ian Pirie currently a director of the company will become Chairman of the board.
Mr. Lynch is currently CEO of Relief Gold, a privately held mining company with property interests in Nevada. In addition Mr. Lynch is Chairman of the social media start up Punchcast Inc. Prior to starting Relief Gold in 2010 Mr. Lynch had been a director and later CEO of TSX listed Firstgold Corp. He assumed the CEO position after the company had run into financial difficulty bringing its Relief Canyon mine into production. He arranged a sale of 51% of the company for a total capital injection of $26.5 million from Northwest Non Ferrous Metals, one of China’s largest mining engineering and consulting groups. However, due to the rejection of the takeover by the US government, the company filed for bankruptcy. From October 2005 to August 2008 Mr. Lynch was a partner with Kingsmill Capital Partners, a financial advisory firm specializing in advising public and private early stage growth companies. Prior to joining Kingsmill Capital he spent 15 years operating startup companies in industrial products, oil and gas and media. Mr. Lynch’s extensive experience in raising corporate capital will contribute significantly to the successful development of PBX and its ability to secure growth capital. Mr. Lynch graduated in 1981 from St. Francis Xavier University with a joint honours degree in Economics and BBA.
Mr. Pirie joined the Board of Directors of PBX on June 30, 2011. Up until his recent retirement, Ian worked for Inmet Mining Corporation and its predecessor companies for over 31 years. During his tenure with Inmet, he held various positions including General Manager, Latin America (based in Chile), where he was responsible for the acquisition and development of the Antamina project up to the beginning of the construction phase. Most recently he was Vice President, Projects during which time he was responsible for the development of Cobre Las Cruces in Spain and the Cobre Panama project in Panama. Mr. Pirie is a Professional Geoscientist registered in Ontario and British Columbia.
George Sookochoff, CEO of International PBX Ventures Ltd, stated “We are very pleased to have Terry Lynch join our team and for Ian Pirie to expand his commitment. They have deep knowledge in the areas of corporate development and corporate finance in the mining industry, as well as extensive business networks that will we believe contribute significantly to the successful development and advancement of PBX’s assets. Our recently announced Joint Venture Option agreement, with Oz Minerals where they can earn a 90% interest in Copaquire in return for a $90 million payment, is a game changer and we feel these management changes will help to communicate this deals impact on the valuation of our company.”
The Company also announces that pursuant to its Stock Option Plan, approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Company will be granting 3,500,000 stock options to certain directors and advisors for a 3 year term, at an exercise price of $0.12 per common share.
About International PBX Ventures Ltd.
International PBX Ventures Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Chile. The Company explores for copper, molybdenum and gold deposits and owns 100% interests in eight properties comprising 25,000 hectares in Chile.
The Copaquire property is an advanced staged exploration project of more than 2,000 hectares covering a major copper-molybdenum porphyry system located in the prolific copper-molybdenum porphyry belt of northern Chile. OZ Minerals Ltd. has signed an agreement with PBX (subject to shareholders approval) which allows OZ Minerals to earn a 90% interest in Copaquire by making cash payments of $90 million and drilling up to 30,000m.
http://www.internationalpbx.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
INTERNATIONAL PBX VENTURES LTD.
“George Sookochoff”
George Sookochoff, CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.