Vancouver – Southwestern Resources (SWG-T) has struck two joint venture deals in as many weeks that will see increased exploration for both gold and copper in southern Peru. The first deal, announced in mid-December, focuses on the potential continuation of a gold discovery from the Liam property onto Cambior’s (CBJ-T) Minaspata property and the next is a joint venture with Anglo American (AAUK-N) on the company’s wholly-owned Antay porphyry copper project.
In the latest deal, Anglo American can earn a 55% interest in Southwestern’s Antay project by spending US$5 million in exploration and US$5 million worth of Southwestern shares over five years.
Southwestern’s Antay project comprising 50,000 hectares, is situated within 80 km of BHP Billiton’s Tintaya porphyry copper mine in southern Peru’s porphyry copper belt. Copper production at Tintaya has more than doubled over the past year owing to a resurgence in copper prices.
Antay includes three main areas of porphyry copper mineralization known as Sayta, Ccora and Sihuamago. These deposits occur within erosional windows and structurally uplifted areas within volcanics.
Geological, geochemical and geophysical work has turned up mineralized quartzite, structural breccias, hydrothermal breccias, porphyry stockworks with copper and molybdenite sulphides.
Low sulphidation gold-silver with base metals are found in the central while skarn-type gold and copper is found in the southern part of the property.
Once vested, Anglo will have the option to earn an additional 15% in the project by producing a bankable feasibility study.
Earlier this month, the Southwestern-Newmont joint venture struck a deal to explore Cambior’s Minaspata gold property in southern Peru. Minaspata lies directly north of the joint venture’s Liam regional gold project.
The 7,000 hectare property includes a volcanic-hosted high sulphidation epithermal gold system which is believed to continue onto the Liam property.
Cambior’s drilling has intersected thick, deeply oxidized zones of anomalous gold over large areas with strongly pyretic,argillic alteration that carries anomalous gold, copper, lead and zinc at depth.Mineralized boulders near source run up to 4.77 grams gold per tonne gold.
By spending US$5 million in the first four years and drilling at least 1,000 metres in the first year, Newmont and Southwestern can each earn a 25.5% interest for a combined 51% property interest.
The partners can then earn another 9% by spending US$5 million before the sixth anniversary.Newmont will manage and operate the project.
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