Rio Tinto begins work in Peru

Preliminary exploration work has begun at the Minas Santa Rosa copper-porphyry property of MacMillan Gold (MMG-T) in Peru.

Exploration is being conducted by the exploration arm of London-based Rio Tinto (RTP-N), which can earn a 51% interest in Minas Santa Rosa by spending US$4.5 million on exploration and making staged payments over four years.

Work under way includes the establishment of grids over the central and southeastern properties, as well as detailed mapping and ground magnetic surveys. Rio Tinto intends to begin an initial 2,500-metre drill program in March. The first hole of that program will test porphyry copper mineralization encountered by previous operators.