Mindoro – At the Forefront in the Philippines

Overview

Mindoro is a Tier 1 Issuer trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (MIO) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN 906167). Mindoro is focused on gold, copper-gold and nickel exploration in the Philippines with a strategy of advancing early stage opportunities to production or joint venture. Mindoro has NI 43-101 resource estimates on its Agata North nickel-cobalt project and on both its Lobo (SWB) and Archangel (Kay Tanda) gold-silver projects. Mindoro has identified 22 porphyry copper-gold prospects and has a Memorandum of Understanding with Avocet Mining and a Letter of Agreement with Gold Fields covering its Batangas projects.

Mindoro is well positioned to capitalize on the global demand for gold in 2009 with plans underway to drill the Kay Tanda and Lobo gold projects, funded by Avocet and Gold Fields, and drill the American Tunnels gold /copper-gold project. Additional 2009 objectives include finalizing one to two additional joint venture arrangements on Mindoro’s porphyry copper-gold prospects at Pan de Azucar and Surigao and identifying a suitable partner to fund development of the significant Agata North nickel resource.

Property Summaries

 

Batangas Projects

Mindoro has a 100% direct and indirect interest in the 30,000 hectare land package in the Batangas District of Luzon, which encompasses the Archangel, Lobo, El Paso, and Talahib Projects.

Archangel

Avocet Mining PLC, a London-based, AIM listed gold producer may earn up to a 75 percent interest in Mindoro’s Archangel Project by funding all exploration until reaching a decision to mine. Upon reaching a decision to mine, Mindoro would receive a US$4 million cash payment and would have the option of funding its 25% share or reducing to a two percent royalty. Archangel includes several porphyry copper-gold prospects and the following NI 43-101 compliant epithermal gold-silver resource at Kay Tanda:

  • Inferred Resource: 11,599,000 tonnes @ 0.70 g/t Au, 3.0 g/t Ag (262,000 contained ounces Au)
  • Indicated Resource: 3,365,000 tonnes @ 0.88 g/t Au, 8.0 g/t Ag (95,000 contained ounces Au)

The tonnage and contained ounces figures above have been rounded to the nearest thousand and gold grades to the nearest 2nd decimal.

In February, Avocet commenced a minimum 1,500 meter diamond drill program at Kay Tanda with the objective of completing a fast-tracked, but comprehensive evaluation. Avocet intends to initially target the high-grade gold zones previously identified by Mindoro.

Lobo, El Paso and Talahib

On May 5, 2009, Mindoro announced signing a Memorandum of Agreement with Gold Fields, whereby Gold Fields may earn up to a 75 percent interest in each of the El Paso, Lobo and Talahib porphyry copper-gold projects by funding exploration and a feasibility study on each project, or by spending a minimum AU$20 million on each of the El Paso and Lobo projects and AU$14 million on Talahib. Gold Fields has budgeted an initial AU$2M in exploration expenditures for the coming year, including drilling on the El Paso and Logo projects.


Surigao: A Major Copper-Gold and Nickel District

Epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold in the Surigao District
The Surigao Gold District is an historic gold mining camp, where there are literally thousands of epithermal gold showings, prospects and small scale artisanal mines. Based on the recognized Philippine copper-gold model, porphyry copper-gold systems would be anticipated as well, and this was confirmed with the discovery in 2000 of the Philex Gold/Anglo American Boyongan porphyry copper-gold deposit, and more recent discoveries.

Subsequent drilling at Boyongan outlined a major porphyry copper-gold deposit with a disclosed resource estimate of 219 million tonnes at a grade of 0.51 percent copper and 0.74 g/t gold. A second porphyry system has been discovered a few hundred meters to the north of Boyongan, known as the Bayugo (or Kalayaan) porphyry prospect, as well as indications of several other porphyry systems nearby. Mindoro believes the Surigao District will become a major copper-gold camp within the next decade.

Mindoro has a direct and indirect 75 percent interest, with options to acquire up to 100% interest, in its Surigao Projects, covering approximately 26,000 hectares in close proximity to the Boyongan and Bayugo discoveries. Mineralization is epithermal gold, porphyry copper-gold and nickel-iron-cobalt.



American Tunnels

Mindoro’s highest priority gold and copper-gold prospect in the Philippines is American Tunnels on the Agata Project in the Surigao Gold District. Artisanal miners are mining gold from shallow underground workings at American Tunnels where they were reportedly recovering from 2 g/t gold to as high as plus 1,000 g/t gold. Free gold is also present in streams draining several hundred meters north of American Tunnels and there are dozens of artisanal gold workings to the south. During 2008 the small scale miners were also actively mining high-grade copper from shallow workings at American Tunnels. These were mined by manual methods and ore grading 5 percent to 15 percent copper was sent by local buyers to China for processing. Recently, lower copper prices have terminated the copper mining, however the gold workings are still active.

American Tunnels is in the centre of a chargeability anomaly extending over 800 meters by 300 meters, with associated resistivity and magnetic anomalies .The chargeability surfaces at American Tunnels and petrology indicates mineralization is consistent with a porphyry copper-gold setting.

Mindoro plans to carry out an initial drill test at American Tunnels in 2Q, 2009. Expressions of interest to joint venture American Tunnels have been received and Mindoro will continue to advance these discussions during the course of the drill program.

Agata North Resource

In December 2008, Mindoro released the following NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Agata North nickel laterite project using a 0.5 % Ni cutoff grade for the limonite and 0.8% cutoff grade for the saprolite:



Sufficient resources have been delineated to advance discussions aimed at identifying an appropriate partner to fund further development via an off-take agreement, joint venture or alliance with an end-user. China, in particular, is taking advantage of the current oversold conditions to secure cheap resources for its future growth. Mindoro’s objective is to advance Agata North to a potential decision point where a rapid transition could be made to production as the nickel price inevitably improves.

Pan De Azucar Project

The Pan de Azucar project covers 535 ha on Pan de Azucar Island and adjacent Panay Island. Mindoro may earn a 75 percent interest in the Pan de Azucar Project and currently holds a 40 percent interest. The immediate objective is to evaluate the Valderama massive pyritic sulphide prospect for its potential to provide feedstock pyrite for a stand-alone sulphuric acid producing plant to supply the Philippine fertilizer industry, as well as the growing nickel laterite processing operations in the Philippines. Sulphuric acid is the major cost-component (greater than 50 per cent) in the hydrometallurgical processing of nickel laterite. A cheap source of supply of sulphuric acid has the potential to enhance the economics and competitiveness of Mindoro’s Agata North nickel laterite project.

Management

  • A. Robson Garden, Q.C., B.A., LL.B. – Chairman of the Board and Director. Mr. Garden was a senior partner with the law firm MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman for many years and is now counsel to that firm. He has more than 32 years of experience in his primary areas of practice: natural resources law; labour and employment law; and administrative law. He has extensive experience in the mining industry, having served as general counsel for Uranerz Exploration and Mining Ltd., a major German mining corporation, where he negotiated a number of exploration joint venture agreements with major international corporations.
  • Tony Climie, B.Sc., P.Geol. – CEO, COO and Director. Mr. Climie is a hands-on, field oriented geologist with over 35 years of international mineral exploration experience in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, United States, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. In his seven years as Chief Geologist/Exploration Manager of AGIP Canada minerals division, Mr. Climie managed the discovery and evaluation of the Mt. Skukum gold mine in the Yukon, the Wolf Lake uranium deposit in Saskatchewan and the Damp polymetallic deposit in the Northwest Territories. He was also instrumental in the acquisition of interest in the pre-discovery McArthur River uranium project in Saskatchewan.
  • Penny Gould, B.Ed. – President and Corporate Secretary. Penny Gould has been with Mindoro since 1996 and during that time has held the positions of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, before assuming her current position of President. With over 20 years of corporate development experience, Penny has played an integral role in managing Mindoro’s growth and development, and assisting in raising over $15 million for the company through equity financings. Supplementing her business management experience, Penny holds an education degree from the University of Alberta, specializing in business education, and is a member of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute.
  • Doug Frondall, CA, – Director. Doug Frondall is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Certified Management Consultant and Certified Valuation Analyst with 16 years of experience in public practice. He has been a partner with Virtus Group LLP in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan since 1993 and is currently CEO of Virtus. Mr. Frondall has a professional concentration in mergers and acquisitions, business valuations and business advisory services.
  • Robert Sarcher, MBA, – Director. Robert Sarcher received his Master of Business Administration from the Sparkassenakademie Bayern, Germany. He spent 17 years as an investment consultant with the Stadtsparkasse Augsburg bank, where he was responsible for key account clients, German market research and the investment strategy of the bank. In 1996, Mr. Sarcher started financial.de, one of the first German websites providing continuous financial news for private investors over the Internet. Mr. Sarcher has a particular expertise in financial communication with a focus on communication of capital market transactions, capital increases and crisis
  • John Tosney, M.Sc., P. Eng. – Director. Mr. Tosney has extensive experience in the development of gold projects, being involved in feasibility studies, environmental assessments, licensing, construction, operations, and early decommissioning at the Star Lake, Jasper, and Contact Lake mines in Saskatchewan. Mr. Tosney’s leadership skills and technical expertise have taken him from Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation (1981) to senior management positions with Cameco Corporation, President of Cigar Lake Mining Corporation, and Executive Vice President of COGEMA Resources Inc. (Areva Group). Mr. Tosney currently serves as a director of Golden Band Resources and as Executive Advisor at Areva Resources Canada Inc.

Search for Mindoro Resources News

Share Information

Shares Outstanding:  
Options:
Warrants:
Fully Diluted:

 

90,257,405
7,242,000
18,614,535
116,113,940

Signup