Bear Creek scores AngloGold’s regional Peruvian data

Vancouver — Bear Creek Mining (BCM-V) has inked a deal with AngloGold Ashanti (AU-N) that will give the junior a head start on grassroots exploration in southern Peru. The deal involves AngloGold’s regional geochemical and geological exploration data, covering some 180,000 sq. km in southern Peru’s epithermal gold-silver belt, where Bear Creek has several early stage projects on the go.

Bear Creek can get a 100% interest in any prospects it acquires within the area by issuing 200,000 common shares to AngloGold, plus two million warrants exercisable at $1.50 and $2.20. Half the warrants expire in January 2006 and the rest a year later. AngloGold can back-in for a 65% interest in any such prospect by funding a feasibility study.

AngloGold estimates it spent some US$4 million compiling the data, which comprises results for more than 9,000 stream-sediment and rock samples. The information includes remote-sensing imagery that Anglo processed to pinpoint hydrothermal alteration and interpreted geological structures.

The major collected the information in an effort to identify large altered areas for potential high-sulphidation gold targets above its minimum size threshold. Bear Creek wants to focus its exploration in areas where potential targets may have been below the major’s size threshold, and has earmarked over 200 alteration and/or geochemical anomalies for follow-up from its initial data review.

The junior already has two agreements with AngloGold, one on the Pichacani Norte gold and silver property in the same late Tertiary volcanic belt.

Bear Creek can earn up to 100% interest in Pichacani Norte from Anglo. The junior has found gold and silver grades of up to 4.7 grams and 90 grams, respectively, on surface. Bear Creek plans to spend $100,000 by this July to earn a 60% interest in Pichacani Norte. Anglo can back in for 70% by funding a feasibility study if resources of over 2.5 million oz. of gold-equivalent are found.

Bear Creek’s wholly-owned Santa Ana property in the region contains a grassroots-stage project looking for silver, lead and zinc with barite, in a zone of alteration and mineralization that measures 2.8 by 0.6 km on surface and is about 80 metres thick. Geochemical samples run high in silver, lead and zinc.

The junior also has an agreement with Rio Tinto (RTP-N) to acquire a 70% interest in the 23-sq.-km Corani property in southeastern Peru. Corani is a bulk tonnage gold-silver target with potential for an underlying copper porphyry.