Oro Verde (ASX: OVL), formally Ezenet (ASX: EZE), aims to acquire two prospective copper and gold prospects in Chile.
The Chuminga project is in the coastal area of northern Chile which hosts highly prospective copper mines such as Mantos Blancos, Chuquicamata and Escondida. The Vega project is located in Chile's prolific El Indio Gold Belt which has had discoveries in excess of 50 million ounces of gold and 900 million ounces of silver.
Ezenet acquires Vega gold exploration project in proximity to Barrick mine in Chile
Ezenet (ASX: EZE) has acquired a 100% interest in the Vega gold exploration project located in Chile’s El Indio Gold Corridor after executing an agreement with Chilean company Compania Calcia Limitada.
The project comprises 10 gold exploration concessions covering an area of 28 square kilometres located 22 kilometres north of the El Indio Gold Mining Centre.
Highlighting the prospectivity of the region, Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX, TSE: ABX), the dominant miner in the region, has discovered around 50 million ounces gold and 900 million ounces silver.
The exploration target at Vega has not been drilled and is a highly anomalous epithermal system within the Sancarron caldera similar to nearby gold bearing volcanic for a ‘bonanza type’ gold body mined at El Indio.
El Indio produced over 16.8 million tonnes at an overall recovered grade of 8.33 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 46.3g/t silver and 2.81% copper from 1979 to 2002.
Overall, ounce production was 4.5 million ounces gold, 25 million ounces silver and 472,000 tonnes copper from underground and open pit operations in the mine’s 23 years.
The company has distinguished clear drill targets from a CSAMT geophysical survey carried out over the highly anomalous epithermal system and are a priority for drilling in the coming Andean field season from this October to April 2012.
Wolf Martinick, executive chairman of Ezenet, said “our search for projects is on-going and Vega enables us to grow our Chilean mining interests and to complement our advanced Chuminga copper-gold project, which we will be developing in the second region of Chile together with the well known Errazuriz Hochschild Group of Companies.”
The consideration payable for the acquisition of the project is as follows:
- Upon satisfactory legal due diligence as to title, to be satisfied by no later than 30 June 2011, payment on a non refundable basis of: all mining exploration taxes outstanding at the date of execution of the agreement, around US$5,000; and US$20,000 in cash.
- On the earlier of the settlement date or 15 August 2011, payment of US$20,000 in cash on a non refundable basis;
- 12 months after the settlement date: US$50,000 in cash; and US$50,000 in cash or Ezenet Shares in such proportions as Ezenet may elect in its sole discretion.
- On every anniversary of the settlement date with effect from the date two years after the settlement date: a cash payment that is US$5,000 more than the amount of the cash payment in the previous year, that is, a payment of US$55,000 on the second anniversary and a payment of US$60,000 on the third anniversary, and so on; and a payment of US$5,000 in cash or Ezenet Share, in the absolute discretion of Ezenet, more than the amount of cash and shares payable in the previous year (that is, a cash payment or share issue of US$55,000 on the second anniversary, a cash payment or share issue of US$60,000 on the third anniversary and so on).
