Villa Hermosa is located in a region of Precambrian age rocks which hosts several large gold mines, including the nearby Parcoy Mine, owned by Consorcio Minera Horizonte, and the Retamas Mine, owned by Minera Aurifera Retamas. These mines were first brought into production on a small scale in the 1980’s. Production has steadily increased at both mines;
- the Parcoy Mine now mills 2,000 tonnes per day and produces over 250,000 ounces of gold annually.
- the Retamas Mine has a capacity of 1,800 tonnes per day and is producing over 180,000 ounces of gold annually.
Production for both mines has been developed on narrow veins. At the Parcoy Mine, these veins have been defined to a depth of over one kilometre below surface, and in 2015, a capital project was begun to install a 1,075 metre-deep shaft which would make the operation more efficient and extend the life of the mine well into the future.
At Villa Hermosa, the vendors have been shipping up to 20 tonnes per month of hand sorted ore which grades between 40 and 125 grams per tonne gold. This material is being mined from four veins which average 0.6 metres wide and are hosted within a 40 metre-wide quartz stockwork zone.
Due diligence sampling of the veins averaged 28.9 grams per tonne gold. The stockwork on the margins of the veins assayed up to 4.2 grams per tonne gold over 1.29 metres. To date, there has been no modern exploration activities completed on the property and no systematic sampling of the stockwork.
The primary exploration target at Villa Hermosa is definition of high-grade gold resources contained within quartz veins. There is also potential that these veins could be nested within a bulk tonnage zone of stockwork mineralization if economic gold values are spread across a significant portion of the 40-metre width of the zone.
The Company will initially focus on sampling and trenching the extensions of the known veins and stockwork as well as prospecting for additional veins. The Vendor holds a valid small scale extraction permit which allows it to carry out road building, trenching, underground development, and drilling.
Kenneth McNaughton, President and CEO, said, “We first visited Villa Hermosa in December 2013, and began discussions with the vendors shortly thereafter. I’m very excited that after almost five years of discussions that we have reached an agreement and can begin exploration.
“While our focus remains the advancement of our Chapitos copper oxide deposit in southern Peru, we believe Villa Hermosa compliments our portfolio of gold projects which include Plata Dorada in Peru and Lost Cabin in southern Oregon, USA. With the grade of mineralization that we’ve found on site and its close proximity to the world class Parcoy and Retamas gold mines, we believe Villa Hermosa has excellent potential to host a multi-million ounce gold deposit.”
Under the terms of the option agreement, Camino has the right to earn 100% interest in the Project by making staged payments as follows:
| Date for Option Payment | Amount USD |
| On execution of the option agreement (the “Effective Date”) | $50,000 |
| 12 months after Effective Date | $50,000 |
| 24 months after Effective Date | $100,000 |
| 36 months after Effective Date | $150,000 |
| 48 months after Effective Date | $200,000 |
| 60 months after Effective Date | $4,500,000 |
| Total | $5,050,000 |
The Vendor also retains the right to continue mining on the project during the option period. The completion of the option remains subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
A presentation for the Villa Hermosa Project is on the Company website at www.caminominerals.com.
Kenneth C. McNaughton, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, is a Qualified Person (QP) and is responsible for the Villa Hermosa Project exploration program.
About Camino Minerals Corporation
Camino is a discovery-oriented mineral exploration company. The Company is focused on the acquisition and development of high grade copper and precious metal projects. For more information, please refer to Camino’s website at www.caminominerals.com
For further information and investor inquiries, contact:
| Ken McNaughton President and Chief Executive Officer Phone (604) 566-8778 info@caminominerals.com http://www.caminominerals.com |
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information
This News Release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Statements contained herein that are not based on historical or current fact, including without limitation statements containing the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “may,” “continues,” “estimates,” “expects,” and “will” and words of similar import, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to our planned exploration activities, the adequacy of our financial resources, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the results of future exploration and drilling. Wherever possible, words such as “plans”, “expects”, “projects”, “assumes”, “budget”, “strategy”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “targets” and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative forms of any of these terms and similar expressions, have been used to identify forward-looking statements and information.
Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, those risks identified in the Company’s annual disclosure materials, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Readers are encouraged to read these materials. Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
