Large-tonnage, low-grade deposits may not be the flavour of the month, but Bellhaven Copper & Gold (BHV-V) is in a good position for whenever investors resume their love affair with big gold deposits.
The company recently signed a deal with AngloGold Ashanti (AU-N) that expands the junior’s gold interests in Colombia.
In Bellhaven’s executive suite, Julio Benedetti — responsible for two significant gold finds in Panama, and the country’s current President of the Chamber of Mines — is coming in as chairman and CEO.
Benedetti replaces Patrick Highsmith, who resigns as CEO and a director. The company is also searching for a new chief financial officer, as Maria Milagros Paredes becomes Bellhaven’s president and chief operating officer.
The moves come as the company embarks on an aggressive exploration and mine-development program at its recently expanded La Mina porphyry gold-copper project, located 45 km southwest of Medellin.
The property lies within Colombia’s world-class Middle Cauca belt, north of Gran Colombia Gold’s (GCM-T) Marmato project and south of Sunward Resources’ (SWD-T) Cerro Vetas project. Last July, Bellhaven lifted the project’s resources by 60%, thanks to a maiden inferred resource at the Middle Zone deposit.
The project now hosts an inferred resource of 79.9 million tonnes grading 0.62 gram gold and 0.24% copper, or a gold-equivalent grade of 1 gram gold for 2.55 million equivalent oz. gold. The estimate includes the Middle Zone and La Cantera deposits.
La Mina is made up of four zones. Beyond La Cantera and the Middle Zone the property hosts El Limon and the recently expanded La Garrucha.
All four zones occur within the same mountainous structure.
A new drill campaign is getting underway at La Garrucha, which is a zone that the company believes may link up with La Cantera.
The ramped-up activity comes after Bellhaven cameto terms with AngloGold for prospective land east of its own property. The deal allows Bellhaven to drill the centre 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, with more than 1 gram gold. The final 3.3 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.
Bellhaven reached an option agreement with AngloGold at the end of March, which lets it acquire a 100% interest in the 14 sq. km concession.
The deal requires an US$8.5-million investment over three years and defining a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource.
If the resource is less than 3 million equivalent oz. gold, Bellhaven has the project all to itself.
But if the resource is bigger than 3 million oz., AngloGold can back into a 51% stake by paying Bellhaven US$17 million and forming a joint venture within 60 days. The senior can bring that stake up to 75% by fully funding La Garrucha to a prefeasibility study.
Bellhaven has 137 million shares outstanding and 162 million fully diluted, with $4 million in working capital. At press time shares traded at 8¢ within a 52-week range of 6¢ to 38¢. Shares peaked at 95¢ in late 2010.
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