Long known as one of the world’s leading emerald producers, Colombia is now emerging as a location for renewed gold exploration. This is due to two factors: one is that little of the country has been explored with modern technology; the other is that many of the country’s laws regarding mining, taxation and foreign currency exchange have been revised.
Just as attrative as its improved regulatory climate is Colombia’s diverse geology. From east to west, there are five distinct, north-south-trending regions: the Guyana Precambrian shield; the central, eastern and western Cordillera; and the Romeral tectonic belt. Gold mineralization is associated with quartz veins in metasedimentary sections of the central Cordillera, as well as gold-copper-porphyries in the western Cordillera and in more recent placer deposits in Tertiary sediments.
Greenstone Resources (TSE) operates the Oronorte gold mine 300 km south of Carteagena, within the central Cordillera. In 1992, the mine produced 10,200 oz. gold at $US245 per oz. Revenues from the operation were $4.5 million. The company is planning to raise US$8-10 million by creating a publicly owned Colombian company, Compania Minera Oronorte S.A., which will feature the Oronorte mine as its main asset. The company will be listed on the Bogata and Medellin stock exchanges and the public will have a 43% interest in its shares. Greenstone will retain a 52% stake, with the remaining 5% of the shares being used to acquire two properties adjacent to the mine and two others in southeastern Colombia.
Another company active in Colombia is Vancouver-based Serengeti Diamonds (VSE), which is seeking a partner for its 595-hectare El Carmen gold property in Antioquia province. Underground drilling, trenching and sampling have already been carried out.
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