Denver-based Golden Star Resources (TSE) and its Venezuelan partner, BPC, have entered an agreement to earn a 60% interest in the Increible 6 and Valle Hondo group of properties. The vendor is the Inversiones Finalven Group.
Under the deal, the three companies will pool their interests and form a new company called Venstar Gold, which will acquire, explore and operate gold properties in Venezuela.
Golden Star is acquiring a controlling interest in Venhold Investments, which will hold a 50.6% share interest in Venstar. Golden Star will indirectly hold an initial 30% interest in the new company, in return for semi-annual payments of US$3 million over two years. The shareholders of Venstar will also contribute exploration funds to the company, in return for convertible preferred shares.
The 4,845-hectare Increible 6 property is in the Increible mineral belt north of El Callao. The Inversiones Finalven Group carried out US$2 million worth of exploration, which included surface sampling, mechanized trenching and drilling. Venstar plans to carry out a US$1-million program to explore further the Vilma-Culebra-Payara shear zone fold structure, which measures 4 km long by 0.5 km wide. The shear zone has the potential to host large, low-grade, high-tonnage, bulk-minable, quartz vein- and wall rock-hosted gold mineralization.
The Valle Hondo group of properties comprise 25,000 hectares. A US$2-million program carried out by the Inversiones Finalven Group identified several Omai-type, intrusive plugs on the property. Venstar is planning a US$1.7-million, first-year program of airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, soil geochemical surveys, trenching and drilling on the Apanao intrusive stock.
In other news, Golden Star, together with Grasshopper Aluminum and the government of Suriname, has signed the Gross Rosebel mineral agreement. Grasshopper Aluminum is a state mining enterprise that assigned to Golden Star the Gross Rosebel Right-of-Exploration gold property.
The agreement provides a legal and fiscal framework for development of the property. It covers such things as ratification of the contract over the life of any mine that may be developed, a net smelter return royalty payable to the government of Suriname, property rental, overseas sales of gold produced, and offshore financial arrangements.
Gross Rosebel comprises 170 sq. km in an area 80 km south of the capital city of Paramaribo. The area is underlain by a Proterozoic-aged greenstone belt and historically has been the site of significant gold production. Golden Star is carrying out geological mapping, trenching and drilling.
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