Tiomin advances Panamanian prospect

Drilling and construction by a team of more than 100 workers is under way at the Cerro Colorado copper deposit in Panama, reports property owner Tiomin Resources (TIO-T).

By mid-August, Tiomin will be using four rigs to complete a 12,000-metre drill program designed to define the near-surface oxide copper mineralization and recover samples for metallurgical testing.

Meanwhile, the Toronto-based junior is building an on-site assay and metallurgical facility to process samples and train the workers, almost half of whom have been recruited from local indigenous communities.

Cerro Colorado contains an estimated 136 million tonnes of supergene and oxide mineralization grading 0.56% copper. This resource overlies a 1.4-billion- tonne sulphide deposit grading 0.78% copper. The property has changed hands several times and, in March, the Panamian government granted it to PanaCobre, Tiomin’s subsidiary.

Tiomin hopes to use solvent extraction-electrowinning technology to exploit the oxide-supergene layer.

The company has allocated $1.8 million for development of the communities around Cerro Colorado, including a literacy program, restoration of a medical clinic and an agricultural and reforestation program.