(TheNewswire)
Toronto – TheNewswire - June 29, 2012 –Alturas Minerals Corp. (Alturas or the“Company”) (TSXV: ALT) , ( BVL:ALT) is pleased toannounce that it has entered into a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) withSociedad Contractual Minera Resguardo (“Minera Resguardo” or the“Optionor”), a Chilean mining exploration company, to lease andacquire 100% of its Resguardo Copper-Gold Project (the“Concessions” or “Resguardo”), located about 95 km northeastof Copiapo, in Region III of northern Chile, referred to as “Regiónde Atacama”.
Miguel Cardozo, President & CEO of Alturascommented, “The Resguardo project represents a key strategicdevelopment for the Company in Chile, one of Latin America’s premiermining jurisdictions. Alturas will resume its exploration activitiesin Chile’s mineral-rich Andes Mountain chain. The LOI also includesa 5-year mining lease agreement that allows the Company to explore andcommercially mine 18 contiguous mining concessions covering a total of3,891 hectares. Alturas intends to establish a firm presence in thePaleocene-Eocene Metallogenic Belt of northern Chile, immediately westof the Miocene age Maricunga Metallogenic Belt”.
The Transaction
The Company will have a period of three (3) months,from the signing date of the LOI, to complete a due diligence reviewon the Concessions, the Optionor, all applicable technical studies,and on any other matter deemed appropriate by the Company (the “DueDiligence”). The Parties further agree that upon the execution ofthis LOI, a Definitive Agreement (the “Agreement”) will beexecuted not later than thirty (30) days from completion of the DueDiligence.
With the execution of the Agreement, the Optionor shallgrant Alturas a mining option (the “Option”) to acquire a onehundred percent (100%) undivided interest in the Concessions. TheOption will be valid as from the Effective Date and will expire four(4) years after the signing of the Agreement. The term of the Optionshall be mandatory for the Optionor and voluntary for Alturas.
The aggregate purchase price for the Concessions isstructured as cash payments totaling US$2.75 Million (all taxesinclusive), to be paid in five (5) installments, with US$50,000 withinfifteen days of the execution of the Agreement (the “EffectiveDate”) and four (4) installments payable as follows:
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On or prior to the first anniversary of the EffectiveDate, the amount of US$100,000;
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On or prior to the second anniversary of the EffectiveDate, the amount of US$150,000;
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On or prior to the third anniversary of the EffectiveDate, the amount of US$300,000; and,
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On or prior to the fourth anniversary of the EffectiveDate, the amount of US$2,150,000.
If, as a result of the mining activities performed byAlturas on the Concessions, a porphyry is confirmed, the purchaseprice for acquiring title over the Concessions payable by Alturas tothe Optionor will be increased by ten percent (10%) of the sellingprice obtained by Alturas for the transfer of the Concessions to athird party, or US$30 Million, whichever is greater.
Once the Company exercises the Option, a 1.5% NetSmelter Return (“NSR”) Royalty will be applicable (the “NSRRoyalty”) as an additional consideration for the transfer of theConcession to be effective as from commencement of CommercialProduction on the Concessions. Until up two (2) years after thecommencement of Commercial Production, the Company may buy fivetenths’ percent (0.5%) of the NSR Royalty (the “Purchased NSR”)at a price between US$2 Million and US$6 Million depending on thesize, grade, and type of mineralization as determined in accordancewith National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”). The Optionor alsogrants a right of first refusal for the acquisition of the remainingNSR Royalty.
Mining Lease:
During the term of the Option, the Optionor shall alsolease the Concessions (the “Mining Lease”) to the Company, asresult of which Alturas will be conferred all the rights andobligations of the Optionor related to the Concessions, including theright to exploit the Concessions.
The Mining Lease shall be for a period of five (5)years and begins on the Effective Date or, whichever arrives first,when Alturas notifies the Optionor of its decision to exercise theOption.
Once the Mining Lease is in force, Alturas shall havethe right to operate the Concessions at its own sole cost and risk,subject to compliance with applicable laws, shall have the right toinitiate commercial production of the existing high-grade coppermineralization.
As compensation required for the Mining Lease, Alturaswill pay the Optionor a NSR Royalty over all the minerals extractedand marketed from the Concessions (the “Lease NSR Royalty”). Ifthe mineral extracted has an average ore gradethat is lower than 2.5%, the Lease NSR Royalty will be equivalent to7.0% of the price at which said mineral is marketed; and, if themineral extracted has an average ore grade that is equal to or higherthan 2.5%, the Lease NSR Royalty will be equivalent to 9.0% of suchprice.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory and TSX-Vapprovals as well as the above-mentioned due diligence
Resguardo Geology and Mineralization
Copper structures on the Resguardo consist ofsub-vertical and tabular stockwork bodies (in parts hydrothermalbreccia) that host disseminated and vein copper mineralizationexceeding 2.0% Cu, along with sub-parallel copper-gold veins. The mainmineralized copper body, which has been historically mined, has anaverage width of 50 to 100 m and is about 1.5 km in length. Historicalopen pit and underground mine workings are scattered along the 1.5 kmlength with areas of mineralization that often exceed 2.0%Cu-equivalent grade.
Besides exploring the high-grade copper structures andthe potential copper porphyry system, the Company intends to undertakean initial small-scale mining operation of the high-grade material.The maximum tonnage allowed by Chilean regulations is 5,000 tonnes permonth. This activity will be of great help in defining the actualextension and quality of the high-grade copper mineralization with theview of a future mid-size operation and will generate significantcash-flow to the Company to support its activities in the Concessionsand future exploration projects in Chile.
Given the already known copper mineralization at ornear surface and the extensive and intense hydrothermal alterationcovering kilometres of area, there is a high probability that knowncopper oxide and sulphide mineralization is genetically connected toan as yet unconfirmed porphyry system (i.e., Late Eocene-EarlyOligocene) located topographically lower and therefore deeper in themineralized system.
Evidence for the possibility of a porphyry system issupported by recent induced polarization and magnetic geophysicalsurveys which have delineated a deep-seated chargeability highoverlapping the edge of a magnetic low, the latter which was likelyproduced by magnetite destruction as a result of hydrothermal fluidmovement.
The following has been extracted from a NI 43-101technical Reports authored by Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans, Principalgeoscientist with Caracle Creek International Consulting Inc.
The ResguardoCopper-(Gold) Project and the Paleocene-Eocene Metallogenic Belt(“PEMB”)
The Resguardo Project is locatedabout 45 km southwest of La Coipa Au-Ag Mine (Kinross Gold Corp:Compañía Minera Mantos de Oro) and about 85 km northeast ofCandelaria Copper Mine (Lundin Mining)”. Access to the ResguardoCopper Project is excellent, starting from the southeast end of theCity of Copiapó, travelling northeast on highway 31 for about 85 kmto the Quebrada Cortadera access road. Heading northwest on theQuebrada Cortadera access road for about 5.5 km brings you to thecentral area of the Project and the historical workings at thehistorical mine site. The Project is currently at the explorationstage and Optionorship of surface rights are usually not contemplatedor necessary until a decision to mine has been made. The Mining Codeof Chile guarantees the Optionor of mining concessions theright-of-access to the surface area required for their exploration andexploitation.
TheResguardo Copper Project lies within Paleocene-EoceneMetallogenic Belt of northernChile, immediately west of the Miocene age Maricunga Metallogenic Belt(see Figure 1). The Projectis within the morphostructural zone known as the Cordillera Domeyko(aka Andean Pre-Cordillera), a region underlain by Paleocene, Eoceneand Early Oligocene Epoch magmatic arc rocks comprising a north-southlinear belt. Rocks consist of basaltic to rhyolitic lavas and tuffs,subvolcanic porphyritic intrusions, and granitoid stocks, which extendfrom southern Peru to central Chile.
The Paleocene-Eocene porphyry andepithermal Metallogenic Belt hosts a diverse range of mineral depositsand occurrences, including large-scale porphyry Cu-Mo deposits likeBHP Billiton’s Spence Mine (e.g., Sillitoe and McKee, 1996) andCodelco’s El Salvador Mine (e.g., Gustafson and Hunt, 1975) and lowsulphidation epithermal deposits like Yamana Gold’s El Peñon (e.g.,Warren et al., 2004, 2008).
On the Property, in the areas aroundthe historical underground and open pit mines, rocks have experiencedpervasive and intense hydrothermal alteration that includes sericitic,silicic-argillic and propylitic alteration. In the copper mineralized zones, the hostrock generally shows a hydrothermal alteration of the silicic-argillictype that grades laterally to an aureole of weak and irregularpropylitic alteration (with epidote and chlorite). Hydrothermalalteration (both silicic-argillic and propylitic) of the host rock inthe extreme western parts of the Property is much less intense andlocally non-existent.
A complex mineralized systemdominated by copper but with ancillary gold and silver mineralizationexists on the Resguardo Copper Project, with much of the knownmineralization focused in the area of the historical workings andunderground mine. Most copper mineralization occurs as disseminatedand veinlet copper oxide species but stockworks, hydrothermal brecciasand larger vein systems are also known to occur (Frutos, 2014).
The main east-west mineralizedtrend, referred to as the Cerro Fraga Mineralized System (“CFMS”),extends for more than 2 km and with widths from 300 to 500 metres(Frutos, 2014). This copper zone is characterized by areas of intensehydrothermal alteration with upper areas of oxidized and leachedlithologies, hydrothermal breccias, and veins and stockworks. The mainmineralization that has been historically targeted consists of copperoxides and copper sulphides which in some areas carry importantconcentrations of silver and gold in structurally controlled veinsthat have been historically worked by artisanal miners.
Within the CFMS, principal copperstructures consist of sub-vertical and tabular stockworks bodies (inparts hydrothermal breccia) that are interpreted to be structurallycontrolled (east-west and sub-vertical), with disseminated and veincopper mineralization, and sub-parallel veins of copper-gold trendingN70-100E (Frutos, 2014). The main mineralized copper body which hasbeen historically mined has an average width of 50 to 100 m and isabout 1.5 km in length, with good outcrops and several historical openpit and underground mine workings scattered along its length.
The principal deposit type beingexplored for on the Property is Porphyry Copper Deposit or “PCD”.Mineralized systems associated with a PCD system commonly includepolymetallic skarn, carbonate replacement and stratabound (i.e.,Manto-style copper), sediment-hosted gold silver, and high,intermediate and low sulphidation epithermal silver-gold-base metaldeposit types (Sillitoe and Perello, 2005; Sillitoe, 2010).
Mineralization styles (replacementManto-style copper with pervasive disseminated copper oxides andsulphides and veining) and intense hydrothermal alteration (alunite,kaolinite, illite, lesser propylitic) observed in the historicalworkings on the Property, coupled with recent evidence fromgeophysical surveys support the PCD model and provide targets for afuture exploration program.
The Project area has sufficient sizeto accommodate a mining operation without any negative impact on theenvironment. The area corresponds to the high desert climate of theAtacama Region with only trace rainfall most of the year and with most precipitation asminor snow in winter months (June-September). Given its excellentaccessibility and climate, all types of exploration activities can beperformed year-round.
The Resguardo Copper Project doesnot have any current mineral resources or mineral reserves and despitehaving some historical copper production, is best described as anearly-stage exploration project. Historical exploration work(geological mapping, trenching, geophysical surveys, drilling) andsmall-scale copper mining is known to have been completed within theProject area, dating back decades and most recently in 2020. Most ofthe information and data available from historical exploration work onthe Property begins with SCM’s Optionorship in 2012:
Table 1-1. Summary of known historical mineral exploration programsconducted in the Project area.
Period | Company | Description | Comments |
1970-1995 | "Candelaria Mine" | small-scale mining; mine referred toas Candelaria Mine | no information or data available |
2004 | Hochschild Mining PLC | diamond drilling; 6 holes (80-100 m long); area of open pit | no information or data available;core location unknown (pers. comm. Jose Frutos, 2021) |
2005-2006 | Araya Hermanos de CopiapóS.A. | small-scale mining of Cu oxides; ~5,000 tpm | mineralized material sold to ENAMI |
2007-2011 | Mantos Candelaria | small-scale mining | mining ended after 7 years due tointernal disagreements |
2011 | Sociedad de Inversiones GemaLimitada | acquired 3 main mining concessions | acquired Resguardo 1, 3 and 4 |
2012 | Sociedad Contractual Minera Resguardo | company formed to hold 3 main mining concessions | Resguardo 1, 3 and 4 and expand theproperty to a total of 18 contiguous concessions |
2012 | Castillo Copper Chile SpA/KingsgateConsolidated Ltd | optioned property; 2 diamond drill holes (~200 m each) | terminated option in 2014 |
2018 | Orestone Mining Corp. | optioned property; 2 RC drill holes;geophysical survey | terminated option in 2020 |
2014-2020 | Sociedad Contractual MineraResguardo | geological mapping study; geophysical survey along 2 N-S profiles (P1and P2) | financed by SCM |
Figure 1. Resguardo Cu-Au Projectlocation and Metallogenic belts of Northern Chile, Atacama &Antofagasta regions
Photos taken from the NI 43-101Technical Report on the Resguardo Copper-Gold Property, that Alturashas in preparation through its independent contractor Caracle CreekInternational Consulting Inc.
About SociedadContractual Minera Resguardo and Non Arm’s Length PartyDisclosure
Sociedad Contractual MineraResguardo (“Minera Resguardo”) was incorporated in 2012 to acquireadditional concessions in the Resguardo project area. It is controlledby Sociedad de Inversiones Gema Limitada (52%), with partnersInversiones Mineras El Refugio S.A. (30%) and CP Group Chile Limitada(18%), both owned by Peruvian investors. CP Group Chile Limitada is aChilean subsidiary of the family-owned CP Group S.A.C. Peruviancompany, which shareholders are Mr. Miguel Cardozo, CEO and Directorof Alturas Minerals Corp. (the Issuer) and his wife Mrs. Sara Pajares,owning 50% of this company each.
About Alturas Minerals
Alturas is a Canadian corporation,and is the indirect parent of the Peruvian company, Alturas MineralsS.A. (“Alturas Peru”) and of the Chilean company, Alturas ChileLimitada (“Alturas Chile”). Alturas had been exploring variousmineral projects in Peru between January 2004 and 2020 and between2012 and 2014 in Chile through its subsidiaries. After interruptingits exploration activities in Chile and Peru due to financialconstraints, Alturas is now focusing in new business opportunities.Alturas has approximately $1.2 million in cash and cash equivalentsand approximately $0.5 million in other securities, as of December 31,2020.
Qualified Person
Scott Jobin-Bevans (PhD, PMP,P.Geo.), an independent qualified person (“QP”) as defined inNational Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technicalcontents of this news release on behalf of the Company. The QP as partof his involvement as Principal Geoscientist with Caracle CreekInternational Consulting Inc. has visited the Resguardo Copper Projectand has completed sufficient work to verify the historic informationon the Concessions, particularly regarding historical exploration,neighboring companies, and government geological work.
ALTURAS MINERALS CORP.
“Miguel Cardozo” Chief Executive Officer
Contact: Mario Miranda
Phone: (416) 363-4900
Alturas Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: ALT)
372 Bay Street, Suite 301 Toronto, Ontario M5H 2W9
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