MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA — Lang Mining Group takes a shine to prospect in Mexico

The 20,368-ha Mamantla mineral reserve, southwest of Mexico City, is the latest apple in the eye of veteran mining entrepreneur Frank Lang.

The concession is owned by the Mexican subsidiary of Valerie Gold Resources (VLG-V), one of four firms in the Lang Mining Group.

Straddling the border between the states of Mexico and Guerro, the property is prospective for silver, lead, gold, copper and zinc. Nearby is the historic silver-producing town of Taxco, where mining has been an economic mainstay since the time of the Aztecs.

Mapping and prospecting have located more than 70 showings, along with old colonial Spanish workings dating from the 16th century. Eighteen of these have been drained and reopened.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting year,” says Arthur Troup, Valerie’s vice-president for exploration. “We’re currently doing a lot of infill drilling around the zones.”

The company recently inked a deal with TVX Gold (TVX-T), which subscribed for 750,000 units of Valerie and agreed to manage future exploration and development at Mamantla.

“There have been some complications regarding how to put [the deal] into practice in Mexico,” Troup says. “The two companies have come to an agreement; now it’s up to the lawyers.”

Meanwhile, a US$4.2-million first phase of exploration is going ahead.

Having spent more than $2 million on surface work over the past two years, Valerie believes the prospect is the site of a felsic-type massive sulphide deposit within a resurgent caldera.

Sixteen diamond drill holes were recently drilled on the Aurora I and Cruz Blanca sections, logging is almost complete, and core has been shipped to Vancouver for assaying.

On the Capire zone, soil sampling and induced-polarization surveys have been carried out by extending the grid 1,500 metres south.

“There’s one drill on the property, with a second due to arrive in October,” Troup says. “We’ve just received a batch of samples, and it looks as though we’ve got some good results.” Official results are pending.

He adds: “Now that the project has gone beyond the preliminary exploration stage, TVX will be sending in some of their specialists with experience in advanced exploration.”

To maintain the concession in good standing, Valerie was to have spent a minimum of 1.5 million new pesos (about $262,690) on first-phase work by July of this year, and another 9 million new pesos ($1.6 million) by July 1999.

Upon startup, the Mexican government will be entitled to a 3% net smelter return royalty (NSR) from silver and gold and a 1% NSR from lead, zinc and copper.

To date, assays from 11 holes have been received. Results from the Capire zone are said to represent a near-surface, mineralized structure some 30 metres thick along the line of the 800-metre-long cross-section of Capire to Aurora I.

Hole 2, first reported in May, cut 28.68 metres grading 0.81 gram gold and 494 grams silver per tonne, plus 0.85% lead, 2.08% zinc and 0.2% copper (including 6 metres grading 3.65 grams gold, 2,218 grams silver, 2.38% lead, 5.67% zinc and 0.66% copper).

Hole 1 intercepted 34.6 metres of 0.18 gram gold, 62 grams silver, 0.4% lead, 1.01% zinc and 0.08% copper. That included 11.4 metres grading 0.26 gram gold, 106.1 grams silver, 0.87% lead, 2.39% zinc and 0.16% copper, as well as 28.7 metres at 0.2 gram gold, 88.8 grams silver, 0.45% lead, 1.2% zinc and 0.08% copper.

At the Yerba Buena zone, hole 18 cut 20.8 metres grading 0.16 gram gold, 57.5 grams silver, 2.14% lead, 5.61% zinc and 0.06% copper. Line-cutting has been completed on that grid and the induced-polarization and soil-sampling surveys are under way.

Since acquiring Mamantla, Valerie Mexico has staked another five claims, which adjoin the property. The company is waiting for the Mexican government to grant it title.