Adventus Mining well positioned to complete El Domo feasibility study by October

Adventus Mining (TSXV: ADZN; US-OTC: ADVZF) is well-positioned to capitalise on the growing market interest in a vibrant and growing mining sector in Ecuador, president and CEO Christian Kargl-Simard says.

The renewed interest in the jurisdiction comes at a time when other more traditional South American copper jurisdictions deal with question marks over their status as top-tier resource investment destinations.

Following the recent successes of copper companies in Ecuador like Lundin Gold (TSX: LUG), Aurania Resources (TSXV: ARU; US-OTC: AUIAF), SolGold (TSX: SOLG; LSE: SOLG) and most recently, the $132 million acquisition of INV Metals by Dundee Precious Metals (TSX: DPM), the country has become a buzzword as companies vie to find and develop new copper deposits to fill the industry’s ailing copper project cupboard.

Kargl-Simard notes Ecuador is located in the same Andean region as Peru and Colombia and shares much of the same geology but has seen comparatively little exploration.

“Ecuador is rich in natural resources but has been under-explored for minerals,” he tells The Northern Miner in an interview.

In addition, as Ecuador “recognises modern mining as an engine of long-term economic growth, it continues to introduce measures to improve the mining investment environment,” he says. “Ecuador’s private and public sectors continue to make significant investments in its infrastructure, and the country continues to benefit from one of the lowest energy costs in the Americas.”

The country’s proximity to the Panama Canal and access to modern port and highway logistics also provide significant global and regional advantages, and two large-scale mines started production in 2019.

Like its mineral-rich neighbours Peru and Chile, however, conflicts with special interest groups have also occurred. But Kargl-Simard notes that the Ecuador government remains committed to developing the mining sector to diversify its economy from oil and gas.

Attempts by various groups over the last two years to introduce referendums to stop mining activities in some regions of the country have been ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and were not allowed to proceed.

In September 2020, the Constitutional Court approved a request to hold a referendum for large-scale and medium scale mining projects in the city of Cuenca within the five water sources of the town. The Constitutional Court’s decision sets the precedent that if any further future referendum requests are allowed to proceed, it is expected that the potential impact will only be related to future mineral rights not yet granted. It may not be retroactively applied to previously granted concessions based on legally valid laws, rules and regulations, explains Kargl-Simard.

Kargl-Simard also points out that the country’s new president, Guillermo Lasso, is a former banker and pro-business. Some of Lasso’s election platform included opening the market, promoting foreign investment, reducing taxes, and a promise to respect the agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the debt restructuring agreed to by the previous administration.

Adventus’ primary focus in 2021 continues to be on the El Domo deposit in Curipamba, where the company has already completed its commitment with Salazar Resources (TSXV: SRL; US-OTC: SRLZF) to spend US$25 million over five years to earn a 75% interest.

Drilling restarted at Curipamba in October last year after a suspension of six and a half months due to Covid-19. As a result, the requirement to complete the feasibility study as part of the earn-in agreement by October 2021 has been extended to April 2022 by mutual agreement with Salazar, but Kargl-Simard says the company is on track to complete the feasibility study this fall. (Work on the feasibility study and trade-off engineering studies began in mid-2020.)

The company has also formed an exploration alliance with Salazar to explore additional mineral projects in Ecuador that so far includes the Pijilí and the Santiago projects, with Adventus owning an 80% interest in the exploration alliance projects and Salazar owning the remaining 20% interest.

At El Domo, Adventus released the final results of the infill drill program earlier this month. Highlights included 67 metres of 3.38% copper, 1.11 grams gold per tonne, 0.41% zinc, 15.8 grams silver per tonne, and 0.06% lead (4.35% copper-equivalent) starting from 102 metres depth in hole CURI-373. Hole CURI-374 returned 5.6 metres from 92.54 metres of 2.32% copper, 15.37 grams gold, 21.91% zinc, 403.0 grams silver, and 3.09% lead (22.58% copper-equivalent).

Adventus plans to release more drill results imminently, which will complete reporting on the infill program of 48 drill holes for about 5,000 metres.

An updated resource is planned shortly after the final drill results are released later in June.

“We expect the infill drilling program will confirm the existing resource and that the results may even enhance the deposit,” Kargl-Simard says. “This resource will form the basis of the reserve at El Domo for the feasibility study.”

El Domo hosts 7.5 million indicated tonnes grading 5.4% copper-equivalent for 885 million lb. copper-equivalent and has 1.4 million measured tonnes grading 6.7% copper-equivalent for 207 million lb. copper-equivalent. The majority of the resources are 40 to 80 metres below the surface.

At Curipamba, local community, exploration, and project development activities are carried out by an all in-country Ecuadorian team. Local social programs are undertaken to encourage education and capacity building, environmental protection, economic development and diversification and improved opportunities for employment.

“As a responsible explorer and potential miner, Adventus is committed to respecting the communities and the environment in which it works, and has undertaken a wide range of programs focused on their environmental and social well-being,” says Kargl-Simard.

The company’s exploration activity is not only centred on El Domo — exploration planned for the remainder of 2021 includes the 3,300-metre regional Curipamba drill program, looking for volcanogenic massive sulphide targets, and over 3,000 metres of drilling at the Santiago project starting by the end of July. The initial drilling program in Pijilí has been completed in early 2021.

Adventus will also benefit from Canstar Resources‘ (TSXV: ROX; US-OTC: CSRNF) $5 million exploration program at the Buchans and Daniel’s Harbour historic mining camp in Newfoundland, through its 24% interest in the company and from South 32‘s (ASX: S32) 7,000-metre drill program to earn 70% by spending $5.5 million on the Rathkeale, Kingscourt, and Fermoy projects in Ireland.

Analysts are optimistic about Adventus’ momentum and how the geopolitical situation is taking shape in Ecuador.

“We expect the completion of the El Domo feasibility study will help identify the deposit as a legitimate future producer at a time when the number of new base metals projects is limited,” Haywood Securities analyst Pierre Vaillancourt wrote in a research note. “It will help re-rate Adventus to reflect the status of the project.”