NRBolivar Goldfields Ltd -
Bolivar sells Venezuelan assets to Crystallex
Bolivar Goldfields Ltd BVG
Shares issued 16,991,105 2000-07-27 close $1.38
Friday Jul 28 2000
Mr. Marc Oppenheimer of Crystallex reports
Crystallex has closed in escrow its acquisition of all of the Venezuelan assets of Bolivar Goldfields. Crystallex immediately assumes full control and operation of the Venezuelan assets. The acquisition includes the Tomi mine, Revemin mill and 44,438 hectares of exploration lands in the El Callao greenstone belt, Venezuela's most prolific gold-producing area over the past 150 years.
The purchase price, totalling $20-million (U.S.), includes a payment of $5-million (U.S.), $2-million (U.S.) note payable in 90 days, and the assumption of $13-million (U.S.) in existing long-term debt. Crystallex has the option of converting the 90-day note to Crystallex shares at its discretion. The company intends to restructure the current existing debt associated with the assets as non-recourse debt.
Located in Venezuela's Bolivar state, the Tomi concession as of March 1, 2000, reportedly contained open-pit minable reserves of 263,000 ounces of gold. The current reserves are located in four pits. McKenzie, Charlie Richards, Milagrito and Fosforito. In addition to the concession's open-pit reserves, drilling conducted by Bolivar Goldfields below the Charlie Richards pit has intersected several high-grade intervals including gold values of 6.06 grams per tonne over 65 metres, 17.39 grams per tonne over 21 metres and 11.25 grams per tonne over 28 metres. This suggests a strong potential for underground mining. Previous gold occurrences also indicate excellent exploration potential on other parts of the Tomi concession as well as on the Dividival and Belen concessions.
Crystallex's president and chief executive officer, Marc J. Oppenheimer, commented: "This acquisition further strengthens Crystallex's long-term commitment to Venezuela and its people. Our many years in Venezuela have provided us with an extensive knowledge of the country's laws, customs, geology and climatic conditions and this is clearly an advantage as we expand our investment plans in Venezuela. We believe it is this unique knowledge that will help us continue our success in the region. We look forward to working with the government of Venezuela on this and other potential mining projects.
"The Tomi mine and Revemin mill have logistical and operational characteristics that are compatible with our plans for developing our other Venezuelan concessions; Albino 1, Carabobo and Santa Elena. For example, ore from the Albino 1 mine may be processed at the Revemin mill, taking advantage of the extra capacity that exists there."
Crystallex is anticipating solid growth in gold production over the next five years. Total gold production for the year 2000, including that from the Tomi mine for the remainder of the year and from the San Gregorio mine in Uruguay, is expected to reach 100,000 ounces. Production should be at the 150,000-ounce level for 2001 and 2002 and increase to 175,000 ounces and 185,000 ounces in 2003 and 2004 respectively, as the Albino mine is reactivated and its underground potential is tapped. Total costs per ounce should remain in the low $200 (U.S.) range, peaking in 2002 to around $225 (U.S.), due to development costs of some of the deposits. These figures do not include the anticipated production from the Cristinas concessions if Crystallex's ownership rights are confirmed.
WARNING: The company relies on litigation protection for "forward-looking" statements.
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