Jean Luc Roy knows a thing or two about fast-tracking projects in Africa. The president of El Nino Ventures (ELN-V, ELNOF-O) has spent nineteen years working in sub-Saharan Africa managing multi-million dollar exploration budgets and starting up three different mines.
After five years as managing director of First Quantum Minerals (FQM-T) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Roy joined El Nino Ventures in 2006 and moved quickly to make a mark for the Vancouver-based junior in the war-torn country.
In May this year El Nino bought 70% of a 350-sq.-km. property in the DRCs copper belt near Lubumbashi. On August 20 the company announced it had secured a drill rig to start initial reverse-circulation drilling of 5,000 metres by mid-September.
The drilling must be completed before the rainy season starts in the middle of November. The geological team plans to be on the ground at the end of August to prepare the sites and set up camp.
“We were able to fast track it because of Jean Lucs track record and his extensive contacts,” says Fern Turner, head of investor relations at El Nino Ventures. “You cant put a value on experience in Africa.”
The drilling will test anomalies identified in El Ninos remote sensing survey of the area.
The DRC copper belt has multiple world-class deposits and its exploration potential is considered to be one of the best in the world.
El Ninos project is in the same geological belt as properties that have yielded deposits and excellent copper values for companies including Anvil Mining (AVM-V) and Tiger Resources (TGX-A). It is also adjacent to land held by major companies BHP Billiton (BHP-N, BLT-L) and First Quantum Minerals.
El Nino entered into a joint venture with a private Congolese company, the GCP Group, in May 2007.
Under a structured deal involving a total of US$550,000 cash and 700,000 shares, El Nino secured a 70% interest in the joint venture and has the option to increase its ownership to 90%.
“Jean Luc has seen a lot of people go into the DRC and struggle,” says Turner. “He wanted to make sure he got a majority stake. He didnt want to go into the Congo with a 30% interest, or 40%, or 50%. He wanted to go into it with a significant amount.”
El Nino believes that the establishment of a new mining code in the DRC and its first ever national elections in 2006 will allow it to be one of the most aggressive new exploration development companies in the region.
“With this new government they have implemented a lot of new investment and a new mining code to attract smaller exploration companies,” Turner says.
Despite the shift towards democracy, however, the country remains extremely unstable, particularly in the east of the country, according to Oxfam and other humanitarian aid agencies.
More than 1,000 civilians continue to die each day from conflict-related causes, Oxfam estimates.
The DRC was at war from 1998 to 2003 and an estimated four million people died as a result of the fightingmany of them through disease and malnutritionin what has been called Africas First World War.
Many others fled to neighbouring countries for safety and countless people remain in camps far from their homes.
In Toronto on August 20 the companys share price was up 10.45% to 74 cents on roughly 95,000 shares traded.
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