Nov 2 2010
Cortez Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CUT) has announced that it has signed a letter agreement with Minera Ligia, S.A. de C.V., a private Mexican company at arm's length to the Company, dated November 1, 2010.
The Agreement sets out the terms upon which the Company can acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Minera Ligia which holds an option to purchase a 100% interest in the Real de Guadalupe polymetallic gold-silver-copper-zinc-lead project in Guerrero State, Mexico, 40 km northeast of Zihuatenejo, under an option agreement dated March 12, 2010 with the current property vendors.
The Real de Guadalupe Property
The Real de Guadalupe property is located in Guerrero State, Mexico, 40 km northeast of Zihuatenejo, and is comprised of mining concessions totaling 600 hectares. The property dates back to the 1830's when the Spaniards exploited the oxidized ores close to surface and abandoned the property when they reached the sulphide zone. The mines were rediscovered and worked on between 1835 and 1990 by various groups until local people took control of the claims.
Historical production averaged 450 g/t silver, 2 g/t gold and combined 8% lead–zinc. Four main veins have been worked on (namely, the Nave- Santa Ana Vein, Ancha Vein, San Pedro Vein and Guadalupe Vein) but many veins have been left unexplored.
The distinguishing characteristics of the system include a metallic association (Au, Ag, Pb, Zn, Cu) typical of the petrology of an andesitic environment in the Sierra Madre del Sur, and a mineralogy characterized by sulfides, sulfosalts, tellurides and native precious metals. The Real de Guadalupe project is a vein system with a potential breccias and stockwork zones. The ore deposit of Real de Guadalupe consists of polymetallic veins. Mineralogy includes: gold, argentite, hessite, pyrite, galene, sphalerite, freibergite and chalcopyrite. The morphology, temperature and compositional characteristics of the veins of the district are similar to other polymetallic and precious metal deposits of northern and central Mexico.
Subject to the completion of the acquisition, Cortez's initial objective will be to prove the potential of the known veins which has been identified as 500,000 ounces of gold and silver deposit. This could be increased with the non-explored veins and the disseminated zones. The lead–zinc values would be able to pay the production cost and the gold–silver could be produced at no cost. A number of vein targets have been identified and an exploration program consisting of surveying, geological mapping and sampling, developing and cleaning of historical mines, including a minimum 1500m drilling program is being planned. The initial proposed exploration budget would be approximately $1.25 million.
The Letter Agreement
The Letter Agreement provides the Company with the exclusive right to conduct due diligence on the property and on Minera Ligia, for the purposes of finalizing the agreement to purchase the shares of Minera Ligia, for cash payments and shares of the Company, as follows:
A NI43-101 compliant geological evaluation of Real de Guadalupe has been commissioned and is in progress.
The Letter Agreement is subject to title verification, completion of due diligence and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. A finder's fee, which is subject to regulatory approval, will be due on this acquisition.
The qualified person responsible for review of the technical aspects of this news release is Mr. J. Antonio Berlanga, P. Eng., President & Director of Minera Ligia.