Latin American mining company Minera IRL has renegotiated an agreement on its Bethania project in Peru after discovering higher exploration potential of gold-copper porphyry.
A contract between the gold mining organisation and Minera Monterrico Peru SAC, initially signed in 2009, has been re-jigged and extended a further five years at the Bethania property, it was reported Thursday.
Bethania has a total 3,352 hectares with three exploration licences held by Minera and a 1,000 hectare lease, El Alcatraz 12, under contract with Monterrico.
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Courtney Chamberlain, Executive Chairman of Minera IRL, said: "We are delighted to have renegotiated the Agreement with Monterrico. Bethania is a very large porphyry system in which two drilling campaigns by Minera IRL have returned long intersections of gold-copper-molybdenum mineralisation. Our objective is a major porphyry discovery by building upon our past exploration success and knowledge of the system."
The operation kicked off in 2009 with a 12-hole 4,856 meter reverse circulation drilling programme followed by a 13-hole 2,822 metre diamond drilling programme in 2011.
The work revealed wide zones of gold copper molybdenum mineralization from a number of holes, characteristic of the targeted porphyry system.
Minera IRL will pay Monterrico $1m at the end of the third year of the operation, $10m per ounce of gold, and annual payments of $1m if the five year term is extended for an additional five years.
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