Mindoro gets the grade

It’s been a busy summer in the corporate offices of Mindoro Resources (MIO-V), and now the company has stellar results from the field to throw into the mix.

While the past few months have been more about private placements and joint ventures, the company now has results from its first diamond drill hole at the Archangel gold project, which is part of its larger Batangas projects in the Philippines.

The hole returned 26.2 metres grading 4.07 grams gold from 19.4 metres downhole, including 6 metres grading 6.12 grams gold from 19.4 metres and 8.8 metres grading 5.36 grams gold from 36.8 metres downhole.

The results were sound enough to send Mindoro shares up 3¢, or 67% to 7.5¢, on 1.75 million shares traded on Aug. 31 ­— the day the results were released.

Mindoro says the mineralization intercepted by the hole is associated with chalcedonic quartz-vein stockworks and hydrothermal breccias within an interpreted feeder zone.

The hole was the first of an inaugural three- to five-drill-hole program aiming to test what it believes are higher-grade feeder zones within the Kay Tanda resource area at Archangel.

The program is being funded by a drawdown loan from Red Mountain Mining. The loan is part of a transaction between the companies that will see Red Mountain acquire Batangas — along with Mindoro’s Taipan San Francisco assets — in exchange for shares in Red Mountain.

Once completed, the deal could see Mindoro hold between 55% and 65% of Red Mountain shares, and Red Mountain with 100% of Batangas.

The loan being used to fund drilling will be converted to an inter-company loan when the transaction wraps up at the end of September.

The company also had news on its other major deal of the season. It announced that TVI Pacific (TVI-T), a Philippine-based miner, agreed to extend the closing date for the first tranche of the proposed private placement to Sept. 7, and also extended its shareholder meeting to approve the second tranche of a private placement to Oct. 9.

In July Mindoro announced that TVI was doing a private placement in Mindoro worth $3.16 million, and that the companies would joint venture to fund the Agata Nickel project. TVI also would have the option to form a joint venture over the Pan de Azucar sulphide project.

Mindoro has a 75% interest in Agata, which has measured and indicated resources of 42.76 million tonnes grading 1.01% nickel for 430,000 tonnes contained nickel, and inferred resource estimates totalling 2.44 million tonnes at 0.99% nickel.

Batangas has 393,000 oz. gold outlined from indicated resources. The ounces come out of Archangel, which has indicated resources of 9.9 million tonnes grading 1.1 grams gold, and Lobo, which has indicated resources of 270,000 tonnes grading 6.49 grams gold.