Joint Venture with Hochschild Mining in southern Argentina
Mariana Resources Ltd ('Mariana Resources' or 'the Company')
Joint Venture Agreement with Hochschild - Argentina
12 November 2009
Mariana Resources Ltd, the AIM quoted exploration and development
company focussed in Argentina and Chile, has signed a joint venture
agreement with Hochschild Mining Holdings ('Hochschild') to explore
and develop three adjoining prospective gold-silver tenements
totalling 13,455 hectares, located in the Santa Cruz area in the
western sector of the Deseado Massif in southern Argentina. These
tenements consist of the Company's Amigos I and Amigos II licence
areas and Hochschild's San Augustin property which are located circa
110km south of Hochschild's producing gold-silver San Jose Mine.
Highlights
* Joint venture agreement signed with Hochschild to explore
adjoining properties in southern Argentina (Mariana - 49% and
Hochschild - 51%)
* Licences under review are under-explored, large intact high-level
epithermal vein system, prospective for gold and silver
* Mariana and Hochschild to spend US$2 million over three years on
a 40/60 basis
* Hochschild can increase its interest in the joint venture to 70%
through committing 60% of US$3 million in the subsequent two
years and taking the project to a Pre-Feasibility stage
* Exploration drilling anticipated to commence in the second
quarter of 2010
Managing Director John Sutcliffe said, "With Hochschild as a major
shareholder in Mariana, we are delighted to have further strengthened
our relationship and look forward to working with such an experienced
producer on this exciting project. We believe that the project
offers considerable opportunities, providing both companies access to
a large consolidated target area where gold and silver mineralisation
may extend across common property boundaries.
"Additionally, following our success at the Dos Calandrias project,
having recently made a significant gold-silver discovery, we believe
this deal further underpins our position as a significant explorer in
the emerging Santa Cruz gold district and our ability to generate
projects with high potential."
Joint Venture Terms
Under the terms of the agreement, Mariana will put its Los Amigos I
and II properties into the joint venture whilst Hochschild will
contribute its San Augustin property. A US$2 million budget on
exploration has been agreed within a three year period, 40% paid by
Mariana and 60% by Hochschild, to confirm participating interests of
49% and 51% respectively. US$500,000 of this budget is committed in
the first year.
Hochschild can earn into a further 9% of the joint venture by funding
60% of the next US$3 million in the next two years and a further 10%
by either completing a Feasibility Study or, if requested by Mariana,
providing project financing, repaid out of 80% of Mariana's share of
cash flow. This could see Hochschild's interest in the joint venture
increase to a total 70%.
Hochschild previously held the San Augustin property in a joint
venture with IAMGOLD Corporation ('IAMGOLD'). Under the terms of the
new joint venture agreement between Hochschild and Mariana, IAMGOLD
will retain a royalty interest 1.5% of net smelter returns from any
mineral produced from the properties.
Work Planned
The initial exploration programme will comprise geological mapping
together with lag soil, rock-chip, diamond saw channel sampling and
backhoe trenching as required. Geophysics may include ground
magnetics and Induced Polarisation/Resistivity surveys. Targets will
be tested by preliminary drilling in 2010. Hochschild will operate
the programme with technical and operational input from Mariana.
Geology and Mineralisation
Previous exploration is limited. Five holes were drilled in 2005 by
Minera Andes Inc. in the new J.V. area for a total of 1,440m which
followed surface sampling and Induced Polarisation geophysics. The
drilling did not intersect economic gold-silver mineralisation, but
abundant hydrothermal breccias with a banded chalcedonic
quartz-pyrite matrix were reported.
The area contains well developed NW and NNW structures hosting vein
breccias. Rock chip samples have returned anomalous precious metal
values. Silicified lacustrine sediments indicate a palaeosurface and
an intact epithermal system. Exploration potential therefore exists
at depth for precious metal mineralisation of low sulphidation
epithermal type.
**ENDS**
See website www.marianaresources.com for accompanying diagrams.
John Horsburgh (Chairman) Mariana Resources Plc Tel +61 2
94374588
John Sutcliffe (MD) Mariana Resources Plc Tel +593 99
808080
Rob Adamson RFC Corporate Finance +61 2 9250
Limited (Nomad) 0041
Will Souter RFC Corporate Finance +61 2 9250
Limited (Nomad) 0050
Joe Lunn (Analyst) FinnCap (Broker) +44 20 7600
1658
Matthew Robinson FinnCap (Broker) +44 20 7600
1658
Felicity Edwards St Brides Media and +44 20 7236
Finance Ltd 1177
Hugo De Salis St Brides Media and +44 20 7236
Finance Ltd 1177
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The exploration programme is being directed by the Argentina
Exploration Manager, Dr Gustavo A. Rodriguez under supervision of
Managing Director Mr John Sutcliffe. Exploration information in this
announcement has been compiled by John Sutcliffe who is a Fellow of
the Geological Society of London, a Chartered Engineer and a Member
of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Sutcliffe has
sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and
types of gold deposit under consideration and to the activity that he
is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the
JORC Code.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
All technical information for the Company's Argentina projects is
obtained and reported under a quality assurance and quality control
(QA/QC) programme. All samples are collected under the supervision
of the Company geologists and dispatched via commercial transport to
ALS Chemex laboratories in Mendoza, Argentina, and assayed in
Santiago de Chile. ALS Chemex's quality system complies with the
requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO
17025: 1999. Samples returning greater than 10 g/t gold and/or
greater than 100 g/t silver are assayed using gravimetric analyses.
Systematic assaying of sample duplicates and commercially prepared
standards and blanks is performed for analytical reliability.
---END OF MESSAGE---
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
