Large tonnage deposits may not be the flavor of the month these days but Bellhaven Copper & Gold (BHV-V) is positioning itself to be in a prime position when investors swing back to a love affair with big gold deposits.
The company has been busy shuffling things up in its executive suite and signing a deal with AngloGold Ashanti (AU-N, AGD-L) that significantly expands its gold interests in Colombia.
The recent corporate shake-up installs Julio Benedetti, responsible for two significant gold finds in Panama and that country’s current president of the Chamber of Mines, as Chairman of the Board and CEO.
Benedetti replaces Patrick Highsmith, who resigns as CEO and director. The company is also searching for a new CFO as Maria Milagros Paredes leaves that position to become president and COO.
The moves come as the company sets to embark on an aggressive exploration and mine development program at its recently expanded La Mina porphyry gold-copper project, which sits roughly 45-km southwest of Medellin.
The property lies within Colombia’s world-class Middle Cauca belt and is situated north of Gran Colombia Gold’s (GCM-T) Marmato project and south of Sunward Resources (SWD-T) Cerro Vetas project. In July of last year mineral resources at the project were boosted by 60% thanks to a maiden inferred resource at the Middle Zone.
The project now hosts inferred resources of 79.87 million tonnes averaging 0.62 grams gold and 0.24% copper, for a gold equivalent grade of 1.0 grams gold for 2.55 million gold equivalent ounces. The estimate includes both the La Cantera and the Middle Zone deposits.
La Mina is currently made up of four key zones. Beyond La Cantera and the Middle Zone the property also hosts the El Limon zone and the recently expanded La Garrucha. All four zones are within the same mountainous structure.
An aggressive drill campaign is set to get underway at La Garrucha, a zone that the company believes may link up with La Cantera. The ramp-up in activity at the zone comes after Bellhaven came to terms with AngloGold for prospective land immediately to the east of its own property. The deal will allows Bellhaven to drill the center of the La Garrucha anomaly for the first time.
In the past it could only drill on the margins where drill-hole intercepts still looked promising, ending in greater than 1 grams gold. The final 3.31 metres of a highlight hole averaged 1.01 grams gold and 0.24% copper, or 1.42 grams gold equivalent while a second hole ended in nearly 11 metres of 1.10 grams gold and 0.20% copper.
The option agreement with AngloGold Ashanti was reached at the end of March and lets Bellhaven acquire a 100% interest in the 14 sq. km concession.
The deal calls for Bellhaven to invest US$8.5 million over three years and to define a National Instrument 43-101 resource. If that resource is less than 3 million oz. of gold equivalent ounces, Bellhaven gets the project all to itself.
If, however, the resource is bigger than 3 million oz., AngloGold can back-in to a 51% stake by paying Bellhaven US$17 million and forming a JV within 60 days. The senior producer can then take that stake up to 75% by fully funding La Garrucha to a pre-feasibility study.
Bellhaven has roughly 137 million shares outstanding, 162 million on a fully diluted and and roughly $4 million in working capital.
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