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CGS Ecuador 2023 News
Ecuador’s government created a series of incentives for miners to repair environmental liabilities and, thus, help build trust and better relationships with their surrounding communities, environment, water and ecological transition minister José Antonio Dávlos told delegates at the CGS Ecuador 2023 conference in Quito. Companies can obtain tax incentives for implementing clean technology environmental solutions on their projects that go beyond the regulatory requirements, including accelerated equipment depreciation and double tax deductibility for repairing environmental damage. “If there are environmental liabilities within your area of influence, if you restore them, the ministry can certify this, and for each dollar you invest in this project, you can get a $2 deductible on your income tax,” said Dávlos.
The ministry has completed the norms for a zero carbon emissions programme allowing companies active in Ecuador to mitigate their carbon emissions in country. “Yesterday, we published the norms to regulate this, which will open the door so that companies do not have to compensate outside the country and so create benefits to the state and communities, and allow companies to have closer relationships with communities through the development of compensation mechanisms,” said Davalos.
Environmental consultation
Davalos said that during the two years of the Lasso administration, the ministry had awarded 48 environmental licences, of which 15 were to the mining sector, with three more mining projects pending, with favourable reports. These include Adventus Mining’s (TSXV:ADVN) Curipamba and Atico Mining’s (TSXV:ATY) La Plata. These two projects will be the first to use the recently created environmental consultation process, with president Lasso signed into law in May.
Davalos said the informative phase will last 77 days to be followed by a consultation phase lasting up to 26 days. “Now we have the rules for the environmental consultation. It will be about four months for the whole process. Curipamba and La Plata will be the first companies to do this, which will inform the process going forward. This process gives communities participation in the environmental licensing process,” he said.
The Constitutional Court ruled in 2021 that communities have to be consulted as part of the environmental licensing process and not just informed at the end once an environmental impact assessment has been completed and agreed.
Clock ticking
With Ecuador facing president elections in August, Davalos said the ministry has to complete two years of work in a matter of months. The initiatives the ministry is working on include qualifying environmental consultants who work on environmental impact assessments to measure their experience and relevance to complete a study. It is also working to combat what Davlaos called the “interminable cycle of observations” by government officers when reviewing environmental impact assessments. “To combat this, we have been working on a series of reforms to establish clear rules, which should come out in July. These include a general guide for EIA’s, so companies know what the ministry expects from an EIA, and sector guides for mining, including different requirements for different stages of work,” he said.
Political turmoil waiting game for Ecuador's developers
Mining developers and explorers in Ecuador face the prospect of a waiting game as the political turmoil in the country runs its course, delegates at the CGS Ecuador 2023 conference heard. President Guillermo Lasso increased the short-term political uncertainty in the country in May when he dissolved Congress and called an election as an exit to impeachment proceedings against him. The winner of the August presidential election will form an interim government, which will last about 18 months until Ecuador's normal presidential election cycle resumes. "Whoever wins [the August election] will spend 18 months campaigning for the subsequent election," said Jorge Paz Durini, managing partner at Dentons Paz Horowitz, told CGS.
Participants in the legal and regulatory panel concurred that an interim government is unlikely to be good for the sector, as environmentalism is likely to be a key theme throughout the two election processes, with anti-mining overtones. "There are candidates with an environmental discourse who may seek to implement reforms. [Indigenous leader] Yaku Perez [of the Pachakutik party] is likely to look to restrict mining concessions. Luisa Gonzalez [of the Citizen Revolution Movement of former president Rafael Correa] has indicated she may convene a constituent assembly to restore institutionality to the country, and with so much fragmentation who knows what would result. The first round and composition of the assembly will be a good thermometer of what will happen," said Andres Ycaza, partner at Flor, Bustamante, Pizarro & Hurtado.
Concessions
With turmoil at the centre of government, panel participants held little hope of the mining cadastre, which has been closed for seven years since the Correa presidency, of reopening soon. Despite this, the panellists said there are mechanisms the government could use to award concessions and get exploration moving again if there were the political will to do so. "The government declare special areas and auctions them in regions without social conflict. [State mineral company] Enami also has preferential rights and could seek mechanisms to advance exploration in joint ventures with other companies," said Durini.
With various concession applications in limbo following the closure of the cadastre, Stevie Gamboa, partner at GSG Abogados suggested a clean start may be better by removing the requests which have been stranded. "The sector is paying for the inefficiency of the state and the problems of the past. To award a concession today for an application that was made in another time would be a negative message and would reactivate opposition against the sector. We need a transparent system with a cadastral that is updated, accurate and transparent," he said.
The result of this is a decline in exploration investment, said Rene Ayala, president of the Ecuadoran Mining Engineers Association (AIME). "There have been no new deposits discovered. The state has been unable to capture investment resources, and the people cannot benefit. If we don't have exploration investment, we don't have education, health and all the benefits [that mining brings]," he said.
Diversified miner BHP is among the frustrated companies keen to invest more in Ecuador, given its exploration focus on copper and nickel. The company is one of the main shareholders of SolGold (LSE:SOLG), which has the large Cascabel Cu-Au deposit and its Tarqui exploration project. "There is enormous uncertainty about where copper resources will come from as we are not finding new resources, and existing resources are declining. We hope Ecuador can take advantage of this opportunity," said head of corporate affairs Rodrigo Darquea.
A positive on the exploration front is that CRIRSCO (Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards) October meeting in Brazil will consider the admission process for Ecuador to award the qualifying person designation.
Permitting
Ecuador has several projects which have advanced to the permitting stage, but until a couple of weeks ago, were blocked by a court-mandated requirement to undertake an environmental consultation for which norms and procedures had not been established. After calling the August election, President Lasso also signed a decree establishing the norms and procedures, allowing the consultations to advance. While positive for the mining sector, the lack of resources of the environmental and other regulatory agencies remains a concern. "If the agency doesn't have the resources, you are one of the hundreds of other projects, and while the regulatory framework isn't much different to that in other countries, the process is more bureaucratic, and the agencies are underfunded," said industry consultant Steven Botts.
Paradox
While extractive industries often face political and social headwinds, the paradox is that Latin American governments are quick to seek rents from them. This aspect may form part of the political debate going forward, said Felipe Hurtado, a consultant with Profitas. "Governments always lack money. They have fiscal deficits that feed into a perverse cycle of regulatory changes to generate revenue to balance budgets, decentralise, deal with inequality, affect wealth redistribution, etc. The political cost of doing this is lower," he said. Economic benefits at the national and local levels are the key aspects project promotors emphasize to get permission to build mines. And while mining developments are shown as a vehicle for prosperity, elements of rural communities in parts of Ecuador reject mining development, particularly among some indigenous communities, which is another paradox. "The reality of indigenous communities is poverty, a lack of basic services, and poor access to health and schooling. The gaps in poverty indices between the city and the country are increasing," said Hurtado.
Social and environmental conflicts are increasing risks to projects, particularly as climate change increases the focus on mining projects and the environmental and water impacts they have. "Communities feel more empowered and are generating new protest themes to claim benefits and demand more from companies," said Daniela Cuellar, a consultant with FTI Consulting.
Funding fall
Ecuador is not alone in being perceived to have increasing political and country risk. Recent years have seen several left-leaning presidents across South America, with the majority having disapproval ratings of 50% or more, led by Ecuador's Lasso with a more than 80% disapproval rating. Consequently, exploration juniors are finding it harder to raise funds for projects in the region. "Retail investors are shying away from Latin America due to the risk aspects, political situations, and the uncertainty this causes. South American fundraises are down 79% to C$200M in the first six months of 2023. Ecuador has been in a downtrend since 2019, with C$27M raised so far this year," said Kai Hoffman, president of Soar Financial.
Lundin Gold replaces FDN depletion, exploring for more
With exploration ramping up following the successful development and commissioning of its Fruta del Norte Au mine in Ecuador, Lundin Gold (TSX:LUG) has already more than replaced depletion and extended the life of the deposit, VP exploration Andre Oliveira told CGS Ecuador 2023 delegates. Resource conversion drilling has added 1.58Moz of resources, with the recently started two-year drill programme targeting the conversion of the remaining 1.8Moz of indicated and 1.7Moz of inferred resources. The near mine exploration program is targeting three main areas: FDN South, Bonza Sur and Castillo. “We have eight drill rigs now with our largest exploration programme since the original FDN exploration. We drilled 18,340m in 88 holes in 2021-2022 and now have a much better geological model. With the conversion drilling, we added 1.58Moz to FDN’s reserves, which more than replaced the mined ounces since the beginning of the operation. We have more reserves today than when we started to operate three years ago,” said Oliveira.
FDN has reserves of 5Moz grading 8.68g/t Au. The mine produced 140koz in the March quarter and is on track to produce up to 475koz this year at an AISC of US$728/oz.
Regional
Oliveira said the company has mapped more than 20km of faults with potential to host favourable mineralisation for additional deposits like FDN. Some $11.7M of this year’s $24M exploration budget will focus on regional exploration. “We have a multi-year exploration plan to unlock the FDN district potential. We have reinvigorated the discovery group exploration team with 15 new geologists, and plan to drill 43,000m this year,” he said.
Dundee prepares for Loma Larga progress
Dundee Mining (TSX:DPM) aims to start training people to prepare for the construction of its Loma Larga Au project in Azuay, GM Ecuador Scott Campbell told CGS Ecuador 2023 delegates. Campbell said negotiations with the government on an investment protection agreement (IPA) are “very advanced. We hope to have an investment protection agreement in July following which we aim to complete an exploitation agreement,” he said.
DPM aims to build an underground mining and a 3,000tpd processing plant with a 12-year mine life which would produce 200koz/y for the first six years following a US$500M initial capital investment. While completing the IPA is taking longer than the company expected, Campbell said it is putting the time to good use, including undertaking an optimisation study that aims to reduce the capex, operating costs and surface footprint. “The technical part of the EIA was approved in 2022. The second part, the participation process has been stopped as the constitutional court ruling was appealed and we are awaiting the results of this,” said Campbell.
Loma Larga faces opposition from some local communities and indigenous groups who fear its impacts on local water sources. Campbell said DPM aims to build a state-of-the-art operation, including a remote operations control centre in nearby Cuenca, with industry-leading environmental protections. “Loma Larga is the most studied mining project at altitude in the world. There is a constant study of water quality by universities. We built a mine in a protected forest in Bulgaria, which has won prizes for its care of water,” said Campbell.
Ecuador president creates consultation process
Ecuador’s president Guillermo Lasso signed a community consultation process decree, paving the way for mining, infrastructure and other projects to advance and complete their permitting. The decree lays out the steps for the new environmental consultation process, including two rounds of formal community consultations led by the government. It applies to activities in all sectors requiring environmental licenses. The decree will govern the formal consultation process required for all environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA).
The decree is the government’s response to a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling that communities have a right to be consulted as part of the permitting process of large projects. The new legislation needs projects can begin moving forward again. Advancement has essentially been paralyzed for over a year, whilst the government created a consultation process.
Adventus Mining (TSXV:ADZN), which is permitting the El Domo, Curipamba project, said the consultations are expected to be similar to the community consultations already undertaken by project proponents. Government indications are the process will take four to six months. ADZN said the government timeline suggests full construction at El Domo could begin as early as October. “This is very positive as it helps all the medium-scale mining projects that are stopped like Loma Larga [Dundee Precious Metals TSX:DPM] and Curipamba, as there is now a way forward,” Stevie Gamboa of GSG Attorneys told CGS.
Media
Exploration News
Collective Mining (TSXV:CNL)
Announced assay results for the first four holes drilled from pads 9 and 10 within the Apollo porphyry system at its Guayabales project in Caldas, Colombia. Holes 50 and 51 were shallow holes drilled from pad 9 to test gaps in the block model. Holes 52 and 53 were drilled into untested areas from pad 10, with 53 designed to step out along the Contact Zone. Highlights included 56.6m @ 10.05g/t AuEq within 329.75m @ 3.1g/t in hole 53 in the Contact Zone. Before intercepting the Contact Zone, a new bulk tonnage high-grade, sheeted, precious metal vein system was discovered beginning from surface. The Contact Zone has now been extended to 370m. Additional holes have been completed, with assays expected in July. “Hole 53 is very significant for the company. We discovered a high-grade and bulk tonnage sheeted vein system above the Apollo porphyry system. The vein system has potential to be traced over significant distances to both the NW and SE and if drilling corroborates this potential, the overall footprint of the shallow mineralisation at Apollo would expand significantly,” said executive chair Ari Sussman.
CNL also commenced exploration drilling on the first of six mineralised and outcropping targets within a 400m radius of the Apollo porphyry system. CNL has three diamond drill rigs on site, with a fourth expected shortly. Holes 54 and 57 were recently completed from pad 9 on target 1, 200m W of Apollo. Visual logging of hole 54’s core indicates potentially interesting porphyry-style mineralisation was encountered over two intervals, with assays due in July. “It is exciting to see that hole 54, our first reconnaissance hole outside of the Apollo porphyry deposit in 2023, intersected visual mineralisation over two intervals. Given our past success in making discoveries at the Guayabales project, I am confident that if we drill with persistency, we will make a fresh new discovery in 2023,” said Sussman.
CNL also announced assay results from two drill holes designed to test depth extensions and high-grade mineralisation within Apollo. Highlights included 792.25m @ 0.88 /t Au, 39g/t Ag & 0.18% Cu for 1.71g/t AuEq from surface in hole 55 including 48.8m @ 3.23g/t from surface. Hole 55 returned the largest grade accumulation intercepted to date at Apollo with 1,356g/t AuEq on a grams per metre basis. It also has extended the strike length of Apollo to the NE with dimensions now measuring 455m by 395m by 915m. Hole 49 returned 847.25m @ 1.09 g/t from surface. Four rigs are operating with nine holes in the lab for analysis. “The Apollo system continues to deliver unusually high-grade intercepts for a porphyry deposit over significant core lengths with today’s results being two of the longest holes ever drilled by the company,” said Sussman.
Max Resource (TSXV:MAX)
Reported assay results from channel samples collected at the recently discovered AM-7 Target at the N end of its Cesar Cu-Ag project in Cesar, Colombia. The mineralisation is hosted in fine grained sandstone and mudstones with chalcocite as the primary Cu-bearing mineral. Nine channel samples returned values of 4% Cu and above, seven returned values greater than 2%, 18 returned values of 1% and above, and 24 returned values of 10g/t Ag and above. "The Cesar Basin continues to reward the perseverance of our skilled technical team as demonstrated by the discovery of AM-7 and the impressive assay results. The high-grade Cu-Ag mineralisation has been identified in multiple, stacked horizons across an impressive strike length of more than 2km, and remains open in all directions," said CEO Brett Matich.
Challenger Exploration (ASX:CEL)
Released a maiden inferred resource estimate 270Mt @ 0.52g/t AuEq for 4.5Moz at its El Guayabo project in Ecuador, which included a higher-grade core of 1.45Moz @ 1 g/t AuEq1 at a 0.65g/t cut-off. The resource is predominantly based on drilling at the GY-A and GY-B anomalies. CEL said its discovery cost was just US$1.20/oz. This resource adds to CEL’s 2.8 Moz at its Hualilan deposit in San Juan, Argentina. El Guayabo adjoins the 17Moz Cangrejos project that Lumina Gold (TSX:LUM) owns. “An initial resource of 4.5Moz, particularly given its higher-grade core of 1.5Moz @ 1g/t, is a great start … however, only our starting point. This resource is focused on two of the seven targets at El Guayabo that have produced mineralised intercepts greater than 500m,” said MD Kris Knauer. With A$15.4M in cash, CEL is funded to achieve various milestones in 2024 as it aims to more than double the 4.5Moz resource, VP exploration Carlos Moncayo told delegates at the CGS Ecuador 2023 conference in Quito. GY-A has a 900m strike and is 400m wide. The company is now drilling the gap zone between GY-A and GY-B. GY-A outcrops. It is also drilling 12,000m at CV-A and CV-B on its nearby Colorado V concession, where it anticipates completing a resource later this year.
Reunion Gold (TSXV:RGD)
Announced a maiden resource estimate at the Kairuni zone on its Oko West project in Guyana comprised of 41.79Mt @ 1.84g/t Au for 2.48Moz in indicated resources and 27.1Mt @ 2.02g/t for 1.76Moz in inferred. “In just 22 months of drilling, we have outlined a sizeable resource containing 60-to-100m thick saprolite cover, good grade continuity over a 70m average thickness to a depth of over 600m and with grades well above industry average,” said president & CEO Rick Howes. RGD plans to grow and infill this maiden resource, while it continues to explore the Bryan, Takutu and Carol zones. It also plans to release a PEA in 4Q23.
Omai Gold Mines (TSXV:OMG)
Announced additional drill results from its Omai Au project in Guyana, where drilling has focused on exploration targets and on demonstrating the expansion potential for the Wenot resource. Some 3,569m in in 11 holes have been completed in 2023. Highlights included 31.1m @ 4.07g/t Au in hole 63. “These impressive new drill results continue to confirm the magnitude of the Wenot deposit, by demonstrating strike and depth continuity of significant Au mineralisation. We have not seen any limitations to the Wenot deposit, and as such are confident that additional drilling can further expand the Au resources,” said president & CEO Elaine Ellingham.
Luminex Resources (TSXV:LR)
Announced drill results from three holes that targeted the Cuyes West structure while simultaneously targeting the adjacent Breccia Pipe target, and the results from its initial seven-hole campaign at Prometedor. Highlights included 287m @ 1.21g/t AuEq in hole 27, including 2m @ 34.78g/t in the breccia pipe. Hole CU23-29 confirmed that Cuyes West extends at least 500m down from surface with a highlight of 24m @ 2.47g/t.
Solaris Resources (TSX:SLS)
Announced the discovery of a new porphyry deposit in the first reconnaissance drill hole at the Patrimonio target, SW of Warintza Central in Ecuador, the sixth porphyry deposit discovered at Warintza. Visual results show high concentrations of chalcopyrite, molybdenite and pyrite from surface to the end of the hole. Patrimonio is defined by an elongated Mo anomaly measuring 1.5km x 500m enveloped by a Cu anomaly with outcropping porphyry. Assays are expected within four to six weeks. “Together with the recent discovery of a second and higher-grade porphyry centre to the south of Warintza East we now distinguish as Warintza Southeast, the Patrimonio discovery provides strong validation of our exploration approach of systematic soil sampling that has also identified areas of significantly stronger soil anomalism in the Warintza West and Warintza South areas for future exploration,” said VP exploration Jorge Fierro.
SLS also confirmed the discovery of a second porphyry centre at Warintza East, 350m from the original discovery and featuring the highest grades to date, with strong mineralisation starting from surface and extending to the end of the hole. Follow-up drilling is underway. Drilling returned 301m @ 0.65% CuEq in hole 28. “The discovery of a second, significantly higher-grade porphyry centre at Warintza East is a welcome surprise in our ongoing mineral resource growth drilling programme. This new zone offers the potential to rapidly add near-surface, high-grade mineralisation to the deposit that could contribute to future starter pit growth,” said Fierro.
SLS also reported assay results from a series of holes aimed at growing the indicative starter pit within Warintza Central. Highlights included 54m @ 0.80% CuEq from Surface and 268m @ 0.60% CuEq within 830m @ 0.50% CuEq. Drilling expanded the NE extension zone to the NNE where further step-outs are planned, while a 250m step-out on the opposite side of Warintza Central expanded the zone to the NW and opened up new potential.
Mako Mining (TSXV:MKO)
Received approval to begin processing material from Las Conchitas immediately S of its San Albino Au mine in Nicaragua. The approval allows for the extraction from six areas of interest (San Pablo, Mina Francisco, El Limon, Mango, Bayacun and Las Dolores and will allow MKO to confirm metallurgical test results at a commercial scale while awaiting full mining permits. Diluted vein material from Las Conchitas is expected to be delivered to the plant in July. “The resource update for Las Conchitas is due to be completed shortly. Beginning in 2024, the material extracted from Las Conchitas will provide the plant's primary open pit feed source over the coming years,” said CEO Akiba Leisman.
Precipitate Gold (TSXV:PRG)
Said Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX) finalised drill targeting analysis and is preparing to start second phase drill testing on the Pueblo Grande project adjacent to the Pueblo Viejo Au mine in Dominican Republic. ABX has the right to earn a 70% interest in Pueblo Grande. ABX completed surface exploration at the Lithocap Zone and is preparing drill pads for a second phase 3,000m diamond drill programme targeting near surface high sulphidation epithermal Au mineralisation and a possible concealed Cu-Au porphyry-style target at depth. Deep penetrating 2D pole-dipole IP surveying identified numerous untested high chargeability anomalies. “This data and subsequent interpretations have provided ABXs exploration team with newly delineated and highly prospective untested anomalies that will be the focus of the next phase of drill testing,” said president & CEO Jeffrey Wilson.
Outcrop Silver & Gold (TSXV:OCG)
Reported results from regional exploration at its Santa Ana Ag project in Tolima, Colombia. Highlights included the discovery of the Palomos vein with underground channel samples up to 25g/t Au & 495g/t Ag, the La Linda vein, and the potential Murillo ore shoot at the intersection of the Paraiso and El Dorado. The Palomos and La Linda discoveries extend the known vein systems extending the potential for parallel veins across the Santa Ana vein system to a zone 3km wide. “Targets generated will be tested in the current drill campaign. Drilling is expected to add potential resource areas to ultimately expand the maiden resource,” said VP exploration Guillermo Hernandez.
OCG also announced the discovery of a new high-grade vein called La Estrella at Santa Ana and the resumption of drilling. A 5,000m drill campaign will test La Estrella and the La Linda, Palomos and Murillo targets. It will also delineate to depths of over 350m the Dorado and Santa Ana vein systems, and infill the Alaska vein system to sufficient drill density to include in an updated resource estimate. “We are very excited with the new phase of drilling at Santa Ana. The programme is likely to add AgEq to our resource,” said Hernandez. “A short pause in drilling since publishing our maiden resource allowed our team to generate new targets and to design delineation drilling of areas of unconstrained resources at depth,” said CEO Joseph Hebert.
Quimbaya Gold (CSE:QIM)
Entered into a LOI with Remandes to acquire Explogold Ingenieria y Consultoria, Minera Buey Aures and Soluciones Ambientales Del Nordeste, which own the Tahami and the Maitamac Au projects in Antioquia, Colombia. QIM will pay a deposit of $100k and issue 10M shares. Tahami 622 hectares in the Segovia-Remedios mining district 25km from the Segovia mine (Aris Mining (TSX:ARIS)) and eight concession applications for 3,605 hectares. Au & Ag mineralisation occurs in steeply dipping quartz-sulphide sheeted veins. The property has never been drilled. Maitamac is 45km SW of Medellín and consists of six concession applications covering 26,102 hectares where artisanal dredging has been observed in creeks. The source of the alluvial Au has never been found.
Auxico Resources Canada (CSE:AUAG)
Received approval for a temporary, two-year environmental license for small-scale open-pit mining from the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Orinoquía (Corporinoquia) for its Minastyc property near Puerto Carreño in Colombia. AUAGs EIA was approved in April. The temporary environmental licence is valid for two years, pending the approval of a global environmental licence. AUAG has demonstrated the ability to process concentrate samples from Minastyc into light and heavy rare earth commercial concentrates; dysprosium up to 16.1%, and terbium up to 3.42%. Minastyc has received approvals for the exploitation and beneficiation of niobium, tantalum, vanadium, zirconium, tin & Au.
Soma Gold (TSXV:SOMA)
Produced 3koz AuEq in May from its Bagre operations in Antioquia, Colombia. "The Cordero mine is operating according to the planned production schedule while maintaining development work one year ahead of mining activities. We are also making good progress on our objective of improving recovery by increasing the rate at the mill by nearly 2% during the past two years. … The enhancements made over the past year are projected to contribute approximately 700 additional ounces of total Au production in 2023 at a negligible incremental cost,” said president & CEO Javier Cordova.
Adventus Mining (TSXV:ADZN)
And Salazar Resources (TSXV:SRL) Provided a project development update for the El Domo-Curipamba Cu-Au project in central Ecuador. Detailed engineering and procurement have continued to advance in parallel with ongoing engagement with government authorities for the environmental license and major agreement approvals to allow for the commencement of construction as early as 4Q23. Detailed engineering is 50% complete with the TSF and waste rock facilities, and open pit mine design is at 78% completion, with full completion expected in 3Q23 ahead of the projected construction decision. The engineering design for the process plant is 35% complete, with firm quotations received and evaluated for all long-lead equipment. ADVN said improved process performance and metallurgical recoveries based on test work completed in 2022 and 2023 improved precious metals recoveries primarily through reagents optimisation.
Reunion Gold (TSXV:RGD)
Announce additional results from resource definition drilling at Oko West in Guyana, with 34 new holes for 15,518m completed in blocks 1, 4, 5 and 6. These will form part of the upcoming resource estimate. Highlights included 120.7m @ 3.13g/t Au in hole 254. In addition to ensuring sufficient drill density for the upcoming resource estimate, drilling has also targeted high-grade zones with a view to a possible underground mining scenario. Phase 1 of the scout geochem drill programme at Bryan W of the project area outlined three main areas of anomalous Au, which will require further follow-up. “The results from recent diamond drilling are especially important to highlight and continue to show continuity of high-grade mineralised zones at depth,” said president & CEO Rick Howes.
Corporate News
Canada rejects Orea buy bid
Orea Mining (TSX:OREA) said the Canadian government denied its proposed acquisition of NordGolds 55.01% interest in the Montagne d’Or Au in French Guiana, which led OREA to provide NordGold with a formal notice of termination of the acquisition. The acquisition would have removed sanctioned persons from controlling the Au deposit. It is the understanding of OREA and its legal advisors that there are no conditions under which Canada would approve the acquisition. So it remains the owner of a 44.99% interest in Montagne d’Or and is assessing its options.
Challenger to raise A$10M
Challenger Exploration (ASX:CEL) received firm commitments to raise A$10M via an institutional private placement. Funds will be used to complete a PFS and regional exploration and drilling at its Hualilan Au project in San Juan, Argentina.
BacTech raised C$132k
BacTech Environmental Corporation (CSE:BAC) closed a third tranche of a private placement for C$132k and issued 1.7M units consisting of one share and a warrant exercisable @ 12c for two years.
BAC also selected Moody’s to provide third-party verification of BAC as a qualified green bond issuer.
BAC also engaged Moneta Advisory Partners to launch a multi-channel content production and investor awareness programme through its Venture Evangelism platform, to expand industry relationships and market visibility for BAC. BAC will issue 500k options @ 10c and 500k options @ 20c for two years that will vest over twelve months. “We were impressed with the company’s vision, investment potential and unfolding plans for the bioleaching and Au recovery facility in Ecuador,” said Moneta co-founder Marc LoPresti.
Quimbaya convertible loan
Quimbaya Gold (CSE:QIM) entered into a convertible loan with director Jean-Luc Peyrot for C$280k. The loan is payable within two years and accrues interest at 10% per annum. The loan is convertible into QIM stock at 50c per share.
Calibre sustainability report
Calibre Mining (TSX:CXB) published its 2022 sustainability report. In 2022, the company recycled 77% of its water compared with 46% in 2021, it planted 156,600 trees bringing its aggregate since 2010 to over 1M, and emitted zero scope 2 emissions in Nicaragua as all its electricity is I-REC certified clean energy. “In 2022, CXB engaged an expert third-party consulting firm to conduct a human rights impact assessment of our operations in Nicaragua, applying a methodology aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Danish Institute for Human Rights HRIA Guidance, with no significant negative findings,” said president & CEO Darren Hall.
Auxico CEO leaves
Auxico Resources Canada (CSE:AUAG) president & CEO Frederick Kozak resigned. Chair emeritus Pierre Gauthier was appointed as his replacement.