June
8, 2004
Hecla to finance small-scale
mining
(BNamericas.com) - "Venezuela's Hecla mining
company has agreed to finance the small-scale
mining association Asociacion Civil's gold development
projects in Guayana region's Bloque B, a company
executive confirmed to BNamericas.
The agreement was signed within the framework
of the small-scale mining development program
which Hecla has been working on with mining associations
that work in El Callao city's Bloque B zone. Financing
will go towards the purchase of mining consumables
and equipment, said Hecla Venezuela's financial
VP Luis Rojas.
Part of the agreement involves the association
- which represents over 200 small-scale miners
- selling mineral extracted from the zone to Hecla.
The mineral will then go for sampling at the El
Callao plant and will be processed at the La Camorra
facility in the El Dorado municipality.
According to the company, each shaft where the
small-scale miners work will have an estimated
monthly production of between 400t and 1,000t
of gold-bearing material.
According to Hecla's Bloque B operations plan,
the Isidora mine will be the first to begin production
as it already has authorization from the environment
and natural resources ministry MARN.
Total investment in Bloque B is calculated at
US$80mn to produce 100,000oz/y in the La Laguna,
Santa Rita, Panama and Isidora mines.
Hecla de Venezuela is a subsidiary of US-based
Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL), which is headquartered
in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho".
