Gitennes dumps Virgen

Junior Gitennes Exploration (GIT-T) has sold its share in the Virgen gold property in Peru. A private Peruvian company paid US$1 million and must pay another US$500,000 in the coming weeks for the property. Gitennes retains a 2% net smelter return royalty on any production exceeding 145,000 oz.

Gitennes acquired the 30-sq.-km property in 1996, only to form a failed partnership with Cambior (CBJ-T) two years later. Before the latter’s departure, a resource of 12 million tonnes grading 1.22 grams gold per tonne had been outlined in the Rio Suro zone.

The company recently dealt an option to Phelps Dodge (PD-N) for the Rio Blanco property, which hosts an oxidized, transitional and primary resource of 303 million tonnes averaging 0.61% copper. A subsidiary of Phelps must spend US$4 million on exploration over five years to earn a 75% stake in the property.