[ferro-alloys.com]Gran Colombia Gold (TSX: GCM; OTCQX: TPRFF) announced that it has entered into a letter of intent to spin out its interest in the Zancudo Project in Antioquia to ESV Resources (TSXV: ESV.H).

Under the terms of the transaction, ESV will issue 27m common shares to Gran Colombia in exchange for its interest in the project.

The Zancudo Project consists of a 1,052-hectare mining concession area located in the Titiribi mining district, about 27 kilometers southwest of Medellin.

Zancudo comprises a historical silver-gold mine (the Independencia Mine) located in the Middle Cauca Gold Belt. Gran Colombia acquired Zancudo in 2010 and completed a 14,000 meter drilling program carried out in 2011 and 2012.

In March 2017, Gran Colombia signed an option agreement with Iamgold for the exploration and potential purchase of an interest by Iamgold in Zancudo. Under the agreement, Iamgold was granted an option to acquire an initial undivided 65% interest in Zancudo by incurring an aggregate of $10 million of mineral exploration expenditures over a six-year period, subject to meeting specified annual work commitments during this period.

From 2017 through 2019, Iamgold completed a total of approximately 16,224 meters of drilling at Zancudo and has incurred over $4 million of its exploration commitment. However, due to covid-19, Iamgold suspended its drilling program so far in 2020.

“In light of the bullish outlook for silver, we see the acquisition of an investment in ESV as a tremendous opportunity to participate in a new vehicle that is turning its attention to becoming a silver focused company looking to offer its shareholders exposure and leverage to the precious metal,” said Serafino Iacono, executive chairman of Gran Colombia.

“We will be providing in-country operational expertise to ESV to advance their projects in Colombia, including an exploration program planned for the Guia Antigua Project following completion of the transactions and financing by ESV.”

Gran Colombia expects 2020 annual production to range between 218,000 and 226,000 ounces of gold. The Colombia-focused miner is currently the largest underground gold producer in the country.

(Mining.com)

• [Editor:王可]