Andean Mining is seeking A$6-7 million at 20c with the aid of lead manager Novus Capital to explore for copper in central west Colombia, within the same 800km-long belt where SolGold and ASX-listed Sunstone Metals have had success in recent times.

 

Andean has secured the El Dovio project, which is prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits, where past work has returned intersections of up to 104 grams per tonne gold and 17% copper. Silver and zinc have also been reported.

 

The company believes the project is sufficiently advanced that it will be able to define a maiden resource next year, and get El Dovio on the path to production as quickly as possible. 

 

The company secured the project from TSXV-listed Newrange Gold for cash and shares in May 2020, and has spent the past year pulling together all of the existing data, interpreting its models and planning a three-phase program.

 

Work by Newrange materially expanded the strike of known mineralisation at El Dovio and identified a stockwork zone hosting high-grade mineralisation at Sabana Blanca up to 68m wide in outcrop, with a 1km-long strike and a dip extension of more than 200m below the outcrop, with the polymetallic deposit open along strike and at depth.

 

Andean says it is clear the deposit has a "high unit value, exceptional metallurgical characteristics and low price sensitivity". 

 

Testing has recovered up to 95% of all metals into separate copper and zinc concentrates, with 94% of the gold and 86% of the silver reporting into the copper concentrate.

 

The leases also contain a number of additional targets, including Granizales some 400m to the south, and Sopetrana in the footwall, and additional prospective areas along the main Brazo 1 and Contacto zones that may add tonnes to any development.

 

Andean believes the Sabana Blanca zone at El Dovio is analogous to the El Roble deposit for which 900t per day of high-grade copper-gold is being recovered by Atico Mining some 110km to the north.

 

Andean has two granted leases and made two applications along the trend.

 

Wing and Howe were both previously with Metminco (now Los Cerros), which had copper assets in Peru and Chile.

 

Howe has resided in Chile and Colombia for more than a decade. He will run the company from Colombian capital, Bogota. 

 

They are joined on the board by non-executive directors Maxwell Green, who is a lawyer and corporate advisor, and veteran geologist Paul Ingram.

 

Andean hopes to list prior to Christmas.