Mindoro revs drills at Valderama

With about $210,000 in hand from a recent offering, Mindoro Resources (MIO-V) plans a 10-to-12-hole, 1,100-metre diamond drilling program on the Pan de Azucar property in the Philippines.

The holes will target the Valderama deposit with the aim of defining a mineral resource. Mindoro is looking to outline 1.5 to 2 million ounces of contained gold equivalent. Drilling will begin before the end of September.

Mineralization at the Valderama zone is described as a “high-sulphidation style” pyritic sulphide overprinted by low-sulphidation events. The zone is exposed at surface at Valderama Hill, where it is 20 metres thick. The extent of the mineralized zone has not been determined, but based on geophysics, the mineralization covers an 800-by-200-metre area.

Drilling on Valderama earlier this summer returned some promising copper-gold grades. The best results included 37.1 metres grading 0.8% copper and 1.87 grams gold per tonne in hole 3, and 41.5 metres averaging 0.12 % copper and 1.2 grams gold in hole 6.

In July, Mindoro’s joint venture partner, AurionGold withdrew from the Pan de Azucar project, and Mindoro reverted to its original 75% interest. Minimax Mineral Exploration, Mindoro’s Philippine partner holds the remaining 25%.

Aurion stood to earn a 65% interest in the project by spending A$4.5 million on exploration over four years to earn 45%; an additional 10% could be acquired by completing a bankable feasibility study within the following three years; and another 10% by paying half of the gross value of the reserves outlined to Minimax.

AurionGold is currently the target of an oft-extended takeover bid by Placer Dome (PDG-T). The hostile bid currently expires Sept. 20. Placer Dome figures that with about 37% of AurionGold’s shares in hand it deserves four seats on the Aussie gold miner’s board of directors. Aurion rejected the request; Placer will seek the seats at Aurion’s annual general meeting on Oct. 30.