Bema eyes Salvadoran gold and silver

Vancouver — Bema Gold (BGO-T) has inked a deal with Intrepid Minerals (IAU-V) for an option to earn up to 75% of the high grade Divisadero gold and silver property in El Salvador,

According to the agreement Bema has the right to earn up to a 60% interest in the property by spending US$2 million over 3 years, including a minimum of 3,500 metres of exploration drilling. Bema can then increase its interest to 75% through an additional US$2 million over the following 2 years. If the property hosts a resource in excess of 2 million gold- equivalent oz. by the end of Bema’s fifth year, Intrepid retains a 40% back in right by funding ongoing expenditures of US$4 million.

The 12,500-ha property is situated about 20 km northeast of the city of San Miguel in the lowland plateau of eastern El Salvador. Numerous historical, shallow underground mines and prospects, dot the property. Most were worked prior to 1920. Geologically, the property hosts vein swarms and associated stockwork zones within a Tertiary-aged volcanic package. This is cut by a northwest-trending structural corridor that measures 4 km long and up to 500 metres wide. Gold and silver mineralization is hosted within Low sulphidation epithermal quartz veins.

What attracted Bema to Divisadero was the Carolina ore shoot, a bonanza vein measuring 100 metres long and about 8 metres wide. Reported grades averaged 18 grams gold and 1,080 grams silver per tonne. This structure was mined prior to 1920, and again for a limited time in the late 1970’s. Bema believes that the property has the potential to host multiple high grade vein targets as well as open pittable bulk tonnage stockwork zones.

Exploration work will commence immediately at Divisadero, with the objective of initiating a diamond drill program in the fourth quarter of 2002.