Verena Signs Binding Letter of Intent to Increase Ownership in the Conceicao Project
24 July 2008 - 6:56AM
Marketwired Canada
Verena Minerals Corporation (TSX VENTURE:VML) ("Verena" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce that it has signed a binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") dated
July 22, 2008 with GKM Mineracao Ltda ("GKM" or the "Vendor") of Brazil,
pursuant to which Verena has the option to increase its interest in the
Conceicao gold project (the "Project") to 90 percent (90%). The Project is
currently held by Mineracao Rio Tocantins Ltda. ("MRT") which, in turn, is
jointly owned by GKM (66 2/3%) and Verena (33 1/3%). GKM is a private Brazilian
registered company and has been the operator and manager of MRT since its
formation in 1991.
Under the terms of the agreement, Verena can acquire an 80% interest in the
Property by making payments and completing expenditure commitments over a 4 year
period, as follows:
Year 1: Pay GKM Euro ("EUR") 45,000 on signing and an additional EUR 45,000 on
the transfer of the title to Verena and will invest EUR 250,000 in exploration
expenditures;
Year 2: Pay GKM EUR 90,000 (of which Verena can elect to pay 50% in shares,
subject to regulatory approval) and will invest an additional EUR 400,000 in
exploration expenditures;
Year 3 & 4: Pay GKM EUR 90,000 in each year (of which Verena can elect to pay
50% in shares, subject to regulatory approval), and invest an additional EUR 1
million in exploration expenditures.
On fulfillment of the terms outlined above, Verena will have at its sole
discretion, the option to increase its ownership to 90% by advancing the Project
through a feasibility study by arranging financing to develop a commercial
operation. Verena can elect to accelerate the earn-in as it deems appropriate
and retains the right to withdraw at any time, during the four year period.
The Conceicao Project includes four concessions covering 30,249 hectares located
6 kilometres north of the city of Conceicao in Tocantins State, central Brazil.
Access to the Property is excellent with paved roads connecting the town of
Conceicao to Porto Nacional (270 km) and to the capital of the state, Palmas
(320 km).
The Property was previously held by Compania Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), who
identified a number of strong gold and copper geochemical anomalies based on
district stream sediment sampling. In 1998, Teck Cominco Limited completed a
campaign including district sampling, geologic mapping, and established and
sampled detailed soil grids and complete ground magnetic surveys over three
promising prospects. At Japones, located in the north-eastern quadrant of the
property (see map attached), a linear stretch of gaimperio pits and shafts
stretch about 1,200 metres north-south, following a gold bearing massive
sulphide unit. Limited grab samples from the pits at Japones, collected by
Verena in late 2007 returned impressive results including: 45.92 g/t, 113.59
g/t, and 23.39 g/t Au.
The Santo Amaro target, located near the north central border of the property,
is defined by a narrow elongated ridge of meta-sedimentary rocks with dimensions
of 500 metres x 30 metres. Here, artisanal miners exploited a 2 to 2.5 metre
wide gold bearing quartz vein positioned between a sericite schist unit in the
hanging wall and banded iron formation footwall. Grab samples on this target
returned 24.79 g/t Au from the iron formation and 5.64 g/t and 2.20 g/t Au from
the quartz vein.
The strongest pan concentrate anomaly occurs on the Corrego Fundo target,
located in the central portion of the Property. Work by Teck, including 1,790
soil samples, returned values to a maximum of 2,638 ppb Au. The geochemical
anomaly appears spatially associated with a north northeast trending magnetic
banded iron formation.
Following Teck's evaluation of the Property, Verena completed a 2,000 line
kilometer airborne magnetic survey covering the entire Property. GKM and Verena
were unable to agree on suitable terms to continue the work, so activity was
suspended. No work has been completed on the Property since that time, due to
the GKM's lack of access to funds.
"It is particularly satisfying to finally agree on suitable terms to advance
Conceicao. We have seen considerable third party interest in this Project and
have long believed that it represents a quality exploration opportunity based on
the evidence at hand," said Ron Stewart, President and CEO of Verena. "Conceicao
fits with our strategic plan to realize the full value of our portfolio of
projects." Verena intends to initiate a 1,500 metre drill program to test the
three well defined prospects on the Property - Japones, Santo Amaro and Corrego
Fundo.
Elsewhere, Verena will continue to advance its flagship Volta Grande project by
completing the current 5,000 metre in-fill drill campaign, which commenced in
May. Currently, eight holes have been completed and submitted for assay results.
Metallurgical samples have been collected and are currently being analyzed at
SGS Lakefield Research Limited, Ontario. Verena plans on completing a
preliminary economic evaluation of Volta Grande by the end of 2008 to be used as
a guideline to advance the project to commercial production.
About Verena
Verena Minerals Corporation is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with
an outstanding portfolio of properties including gold, diamonds and gemstones in
Brazil. Verena's prime focus is on advancing and expanding its 100% owned Volta
Grande Project, located in Para State. Verena has a strategic alliance with
Kinross Gold Corporation, which holds 7.0% of the common shares of Verena and is
earning an interest in the Monte do Carmo and Patrocinio gold projects. Verena
also operates the Lavrinha gold project and controls a portfolio of diamond and
gem properties. Verena trades on the TSX Venture Exchange and has approximately
97.3 million common shares issued and outstanding.
Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information
This press release may include forward looking statements within the meaning of
securities laws. Forward looking statements involve certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is
currently expected. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and
other factors, refer to Verena's filings with the Canadian securities regulators
available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.verena.com.
To view the map associated with this press release, please visit the following
link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Verenamap723.pdf
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