Oroperu Res. raises $8.7 million — Money slated for Tres Cruces project in Peru

To finance its Peruvian projects, Oroperu Resources (OROP-C) has raised $8.7 million in a private placement.

The placement, which was brokered by Yorkton Securities, consisted of 4 million special warrants priced at $1.75 each.

Proceeds will be used partly to explore the 30,000-ha Tres Cruces property in north-Central Peru, a 50-50 joint venture with Pan American Silver (PAA-T).

Recent drilling, besides having verified continuity of mineralization around the 1996 discovery holes, has located another zone, 1,000 metres to the west.

In March, Oroperu received a valuation report for the capital assets of its recently acquired, Nuevo Condor gold mine, east of Lima.

The report by Kilborn Peru estimates that the total assets are worth US$20.49 million and will serve as the basis for the merging of the properties into a wholly owned subsidiary, to be known as Nueva Condor.

The 30,000-ha property contains more than 20 km of underground development and a 450-Tonne-per-day mill. Mining equipment is in place. The mine closed in 1991, after 50 years of production, for reasons “unrelated to operating feasibility,” the company said.