TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Colombian government has declared Canadian explorer Eco Oro Minerals’ flagship Angostura project, which it is being buildt near a proposed wilderness park, a “project of national interest”.
The company on Thursday said it had received Resolution 000592 of June 19, from Colombia's national mining agency, declaring it one of four gold mining companies holding mining titles of national interest.
"We are pleased that the Colombian mining authorities have confirmed that the Angostura project is of national interest. We continue to be committed to this project and to work to demonstrate to all stakeholders in Colombia that Eco Oro can develop the Angostura project in a responsible and sustainable manner,” president and CEO João Carrelo commented in a statement.
Earlier this year, environment authorities declared plans to create a wilderness park and prohibit mining in a region rich in gold and silver, near where the Canada-based junior hopes to produce precious metals.
The TSX-listed company said the Corporación Autónoma Regional para la Defensa de la Meseta de Bucaramanga had approved the coordinates of the Regional Park of Santurbán and the officially declared boundaries did not impede development of its mine.
The Angostura deposit covers a total area of 215 ha of which 193 ha, or 90%, falls outside of the surface boundaries of the park. Of the previously disclosed mineral resources for the deposit, about three-million ounces of gold equivalent, or 89% of the indicated resources, and 2.3-million ounces of gold equivalent, or 96% of the inferred resources, fall outside the surface boundaries of the park.