Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/759903
D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 29 that coordinates the security sector, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Defence that work with the Ministry of Mining. The government is focusing on illegal miners to, of course, get rid of those operations," said Cordova. He said that the government has made many improvements to deal with illegal miners and there`s much more control of the situation today. "Illegal mining is a felony, so you can go to jail if you are an illegal miner," said Cordova. Overseeing all these changes is Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador since 2007, who has expressed strong support for large mining projects. Another favourable development was Ecuador issuing bonds in 2014 with an oversubscribed $2 billion issue (10 years at 7.95%). lUMina GOld COrp. Lumina Gold Corp. [LUM-TSXV], for- merly Odin Mining and Exploration, which recently acquired Ecuador Gold and Copper, began operating in Ecuador in 1987. During the 1990s, the company operated several successful placer gold operations (175,000 oz gold). In 1994, the Cangrejos area was identified as the source of the Biron alluvial gold deposit. A joint venture was formed with Newmont and, between 1994 and 2001, geophysical and geochemical surveys were completed and anomalies diamond drilled. The Cangrejos Zone was discovered by hole CC-99-14 which intersected 1.57 g/t gold over 192 metres. In 2001, Newmont withdrew from Ecuador and ended the JV. The company maintained some of the concessions and resumed exploration in 2011. The Ecuador Gold and Copper acqui- sition included the Condor Project in Zamora-Chinchipe Province, southern Ecuador. The project contains an indicated resource of 8.0 million oz gold. Inferred resources are 2.6 million oz gold. Jdl GOld COrp. JDL Gold Corp. [JDL-TSXV] recently changed its name from Lowell Copper Ltd., completed a 6.45:1 share consolidation and merged with Gold Mountain Mining Corp. and Anthem United Inc. A $60.5 million financing has also been completed. JDL Gold's Ecuadorian asset is the 100%- owned Warintza copper-molybdenum project in southeastern Ecuador. There is a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate with inferred resources totaling 194,994,000 tonnes grading 0.61% copper equivalent (copper: 0.42% – 1,807,791,000 lbs and molybdenum: 0.031% – 132,277,000 lbs). Negotiations with the government and local indigenous communities have been under- way. JDL Gold has had discussions with the community and the government regarding access to the project and resuming explo- ration. JDL would focus on enlarging the copper/moly orebody. JDL has a majority interest in the Koricancha gold processing plant in the Arequipa region of Peru which is autho- rized to process up to 350 tonnes of mineralized feed per day. lUndin GOld inC. Lundin Gold Inc. [LUG-TSX; NASDAQ Stockholm] acquired the Fruta del Norte gold project in southeast Ecuador from Kinross Gold for $240 million. A Feasibility Study by Amec Foster Wheeler will pro- vide the basis for development. Mineral reserves total 4.82 million oz gold and 6.34 million oz silver (15.5 mil- lion tonnes at 9.67 g/t gold and 12.7 g/t silver). Average annual gold production will be 340,000 oz at an average life of mine total cash cost of $553/oz and a LOM all-in sustaining cash cost of $623/oz. Estimated capital cost, including contin- gency, is $669 million, net of taxes. Targeted start of construction is mid-2017 with expected first gold production in Q1 2020 with first year of full production in 2021. NPV is $1,283 million Pre-tax and $676 million After-tax. IRR is 23.8% Pre-tax and 15.7% After-tax capital payback is 3.7 years Pre-tax and 4.5 years After-tax. salaZar resOUrCes lTd. Salazar Resources Ltd. [SRL-TSXV; CCG-FSE] has four projects in Ecuador: Curipamba, Mendez, Rumiñahui and Santiago. The company is focusing on the Curipamba polymetallic project in central www.heronresources.com.au TSX CODE HER ASX CODE HRR Woodlawn Project – A near term production opportunity in zinc • Feasibility Study demonstrates compelling development case • Positioned to meet supply shortage and demand growth in zinc market • Fully permitted with unrivalled infrastructure access