Tombstone to acquire Venezuelan option

Although still subject to a final formal agreement and regulatory approval, Tombstone Explorations (VSE) recently signed an agreement allowing it to acquire a 100% interest in 15 properties comprising over 35 concessions in Bolivar state, Venezuela.

The agreement as proposed will result in the Ledezma Group of Venezuela and Tamarack Inc., each holding an equal controlling interest in Tombstone Explorations. Alaska-based Tamarack owns and operates placer mines in the Yukon, and also holds rights to mining concessions in Venezuela, which it will sell to Tombstone through a share transaction.

The agreement also requires that Tombstone pay the Ledezma Group US$7 million in cash payments and issue nine million of its shares over a 23-month period. The Ledezma group was the largest private gold producer in Venezuela over the last decade. The group mined gold from the high-grade enriched zone overlying the bulk-tonnage Las Cristinas deposit recently established by Placer Dome, before relinquishing its interest to the Venezuela Agency for Mining Development (CVG) in 1988.

Tombstone intends to release details of the properties shortly, along with details of development plans and financing arrangements.

In a more recent development, Tombstone announced an agreement with Canarc Resource (VSE) whereby Canarc will be granted the right to earn a 50% interest in eight of Tombstone’s 15 Bolivar state properties. To earn this right, Canarc must spend $9 million in exploration and development costs over the next four years. Canarc will also make a $1.9-million private placement in Tombstone.