- Chaucha NI43-101 Compliant Report (“Junín Report”) by Micon International Co. Limited (“Micon”) Click Here to View
- Copper-Molybdenum, Silver-Gold porphyry
- inferred resource estimate: 216 million tonnes (NI43-101) grading 0.46% Cu, 0.03% Mo
- 2.2 billion lbs copper and 122 million lbs molybdenum
- Excellent local community support
The Chaucha property covers approximately 3,000 hectares, and is located 70 km to the west of the town of Cuenca in the Chaucha parish of the Azuay province of southern Ecuador. The Company has applied for other mineral concessions contiguous to the Chaucha property.
Less than 45 kilometers from the port of Balao, this project represents a unique development opportunity compared to many other mineral deposits in Ecuador that face transportation challenges for supplies and concentrates.
During 2007, the Company significantly advanced the development of the Chaucha project by drilling 42 new holes in select target areas to a maximum drillhole depth of 434 meters. The majority of these were drilled on the Naranjos target with 9 holes (1,341 meters) being drilled on the target known as Gur Gur, which is located less than two kilometers from Naranjos.
The Company’s drilling programs included step-out exploration to determine the extent of mineralization as well as internal confirmation drilling. These drilling results established the expansion, both at depth and horizontally, of the known porphyry copper system, especially in the Naranjos and Gur Gur targets.
The exploration program planned for 2008 is designed to achieve sufficient drill density and resource control information adequate to establish a NI 43-101 compliant resource, resulting in the completion of a pre-feasibility incorporating Naranjos and Gur Gur by the end of 2008. In light of the new Mining Mandate announced by the Ecuadorian government in April 2008, the Company has elected to defer exploration expenditures until receipt of further clarification from the government of Ecuador as to its position regarding advancement of mining.
The goal of these programs is to move the known mineralization into internationally recognized, modern inferred and indicated resource categories. “We believe, based on historic drilling by previous owners and our own work in 2006 and 2007, that this program will demonstrate a significant resource in the Naranjos zone alone,” said Gary Davis, President and Chief Executive Officer.
