MINING MARKETS & INVESTMENT NEWS — Unusual trading activity halts Zamora

An unexplained increase in the share price of Zamora Gold (ZMRA-C), which led to a brief trading halt on the Canadian Dealing Network last month, appears to have triggered renewed interest in the junior’s ongoing work programs in Ecuador.

Zamora, which had been hovering in the 3 cents range, rocketed up to 20 cents per share on March 17, when trading halted. Shares resumed trading the following day, after Zamora issued a release stating it was unaware of any material changes or developments that could explain the price jump. The price has since slipped to 11 cents per share.

Zamora has spent US$800,000 on exploration since December 1998, when Compania Minera Gribipe gained a 57% interest in the company. In that transaction, Zamora’s major shareholder, Vista Gold (VGZ-T), diluted its interest to 25% from 49%.

In early January, Zamora started producing gold at the Campanillas mill in the Nambija region of southeastern Ecuador. To date, the gravity mill is processing at the daily rate of 100 tonnes using material grading 3.5 grams gold per tonne. In excess of 160 oz. have been produced so far, with gold recovery estimated at 38%. Zamora expects recovery to rise to 95% in the next few months, once a flotation circuit is added.

Zamora has also been working to delineate additional resources for the mill. To date, the company has delineated more than 50,000 tonnes at 10 grams gold per tonne from the Katy, Alda and Alto Mina zones near the mill. Several samples from Alto Mina contained coarse gold from panning samples, while the Katy area shows excellent potential for additional mineralization.

The company is also conducting a long-range program to explore its 75%-owned Nambija 1 concession and the 96%-owned Mina Real concession. In particular, Zamora is evaluating the potential for porphyry copper mineralization at Mina Real. So far, much of the work has focused on the Breccia zone. Three adits and five drillholes tested a northerly striking, steeply dipping, altered zone measuring 300 metres long by 50 metres wide.

Geologists located stockwork mineralization at the David, Southwest and Tumi zones. Road-building and trenching at Tumi uncovered hypogene-enriched gold mineralization measuring 20 by 40 metres.