TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Toronto-based Lundin Mining has bought a 15.4% stake in Salazar Resources, which owns copper-zinc properties in Ecuador, after taking up over 80% of the units on offer in a $3-million equity financing.

Silvercorp, the Vancouver-domiciled, China-focused miner, also took up shares in the offering, maintaining its interest in Salazar at 10.7%.

What has attracted the likes of Lundin and Silvercorp to a fledgling junior with a C$26-million market value on the TSX-V?

Salazar CEO Fredy Salazar said in a statement the interest was in the company’s El Domo project, which has an estimated 5.53-million tons of indicated resources and 1.46-million tons inferred, at average grades of 2.4% copper and 2.5% zinc.

That makes it the “richest combined metal grades of all volcanic massive sulphide deposits in the Andes”, according to a Salazar presentation.

The company also has other exploration assets in Ecuador and Colombia.

The investment from the two well-known mining names lifted Salazar’s share price on Friday, with the stock closing nearly 18% higher at C$0.66 – albeit on anaemic volumes.
 

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.