LATIN AMERICA — IBI to acquire La Luz

A letter-of-intent agreement sets the stage for International Business Investments (IBI-C) to acquire a 100% interest in La Luz, a gold project near Juntas, Costa Rica.

To acquire the interest, IBI will award the vendor a 3% net smelter return royalty in addition to an immediate payment of US$150,000, followed by staged payments totalling US$1 million, to be completed by 1999.

Situated some 170 km northwest of San Jos, the property covers 14 sq. km at the northwestern end of the Costa Rican gold belt. More than US$1 million has been spent by the vendor on exploration, access roads and environmental studies.

IBI has retained Raymond Davies to oversee exploration activities. The Canadian geologist recently visited the property to review the work completed to date and collect samples, now sent for assaying.

Davies recommended that a US$350,000 first-phase drilling program be carried out to test known targets.