LATIN AMERICA SPECIAL — First Western acquires Honey Camp

Junior company First Western Minerals (VSE) has acquired a 49% interest in a gold project within the Mazaruni-Potaro district of northern Guyana.

The project covers a prospecting licence, known as the Honey Camp Goldfield, about 24,700 acres in size. This land package is held by a private Guyanese company, Caribbean Resources. First Western and Caribbean plan to enter into a joint-venture agreement by May of this year.

To acquire the interest, First Western will pay US$500,000 within six months of signing the joint-venture agreement. It will be responsible for funding exploration until a deposit containing 150,000 oz. is confirmed by an independent engineering report. First Western will then gain an additional 1% interest, making the project a 50-50 partnership.

The Honey Camp Goldfield lies between the Mazaruni and Essequibo Rivers. Previous work was limited to academic studies by the British Geological Society. At least 16 primary veins, vein systems and stockworks (some with associated alluvial deposits) have been identified on about one-third of the property. Based on a 1972 report by a British geologist, the camp contains oxidized vein reserves of 282,210 tons grading 0.17 oz. gold per ton. The saprolite potential remains untested. However, First Western says a survey in 1934 recorded that every stream in the area contained gold (although only the shallower creeks could be worked by current methods). The junior considers the property to have potential for bulk-tonnage, low-grade gold deposits; this view is based on the widespread distribution of gold in the secondary environment, the presence of stringer zones and the limited reported saprolite workings.

The gold occurrences in the district are contained within the regional-scale Issano-Appaparu shear zone, which also contains the Kaburi-Eldorado gold camp, 15.5 miles to the southeast, and the Omai mine, some 50 miles to the southeast.

First Western also has an option to acquire further properties acquired by Caribbean Resources adjacent to and surrounding the Honey Camp.