Costa Rican gold producer Ariel Resources (VSE) has increased substantially its reserve position by acquiring the San Martin property adjacent to its Tres Hermanos mining operation.
Ariel says it paid $200,000 for the property and assumed a US$1-per-oz. production royalty. The San Martin owners, it says, spent about US$2.5 million during the past few years on exploration work.
According to a 1989 report, San Martin contains proven and probable open-pit reserves of about 4.3 million tons averaging 0.07 oz. gold per ton. (A subsequent critique of the 1989 report by another firm suggested downgrading reserves to about 3.1 million tons grading 0.07 oz., in the “probable” category.) The property is also reported to host a much smaller tonnage of underground reserves.
Ariel, which produced 10,186 oz. during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1992, from its Tres Hermanos operation, transports ore to its nearby Matapalo mill for processing.
Ariel President William Bennett is projecting annual output of 30,000 oz. in three years.
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