Atico Mining Corporation (the “Company” or “Atico”) is pleased to announce that prior to the commencement of the Public Consultation on the La Plata project in Ecuador, the Canadian Ambassador to Ecuador, his Excellency Stephen Potter, and Tania Vasquez, Governor of Cotopaxi province, (“the Delegation”) have reiterated their support for the La Plata Project, a project wholly owned by Atico Mining Corporation.
The Delegation had the opportunity to witness the project's commitment to social and environmental initiatives, which align with Canadian core values. The visit, coupled with the recent decree from the President of Ecuador, signifies a promising trajectory for the project, paving the path for construction in the near future.
During their visit, both the Ambassador and the Governor observed the project's readiness to initiate public hearings and acknowledged the strong local community support for the project. The La Plata project has successfully implemented itself in the regional economy creating a broader economic ecosystem, serving as a catalyst for various formal activities and positively transforming the whole region.
Expressing his satisfaction, Ambassador Potter, stated, “Canada is a mining hub promoting good practices in environment and all social aspects integrated in the mining industry.” Mr. Potter continued, “today we had the opportunity to witness the exceptional hospitality of the community of Palo Quemado and their strong commitment to building a better future.”
The Delegation was delighted to witness the successful agricultural projects organized by regional associations in partnership with Atico. Additionally, they were invited to inaugurate the recently refurbished potable water system. This collaborative project, overseen by the Water Authorities of Palo Quemado, involved complete reconstruction of several key components of the water system. Atico was proud to maternally contribute to this public and private endeavor as this project will be providing water access to hundreds of residents in the communities of Palo Quemado and Santa Rosa, where most of the Company's employees reside.
Atico Mining’s success and culture are based on investing in sustainable development in communities where it operates through responsible mining with a tremendous emphasis on the surrounding environment.
La Plata Project
Gold-bearing sulphide mineralization at La Plata occurs as compositional banding composed of chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite laminae with barite occurring as clasts and also as layers. The mineralised lenses have also been dislocated by a few faults and dolerite dikes cutting the body.
The La Plata project is amongst the highest-grade gold-copper VMS deposits in which base and precious metal mineralization is interpreted to have formed as part of multiple volcanic episodes that created a stacked volcanic-exhalite hydrothermal sequence considered favorable for hosting additional VMS lenses. The recent drilling results in the southern portion of the deposit have encountered deeper mineralisation, and an extension of mineralisation to the north has been discovered by recent trenching results.
The La Plata independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) dated March 30th 2019, was prepared pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) and reports the La Plata inferred resources at 1.9 million tons at an average grade of 4.1 g/t Au, 49.4g/t silver, 3.3% Cu, 4.5% Zn, 0.6% Pb as available on SEDAR.
The La Plata project consists of two concessions covering a total area of 2,300 hectares along its 9-kilometer length, which contains known mineralization in two VMS lenses and nine priority exploration targets.