NEWS ROUNDUP (September 02, 1991)

Junior Orofino Resources (TSE) recently purchased 886,000 shares (a 19.9% interest) in Andaurex Resources (VSE) in a private transaction. No price was disclosed; Andaurex shares were recently trading in the 15-20-cent range.

Orofino, a former gold producer, reports cash and investments worth about $2 million, while Andaurex has about $1 million in cash. The two companies may jointly explore investment opportunities.

The president of Orofino, Gregory Bowes, has been named president of Andaurex.

Toronto-based Madeleine Mines (TSE) and partner Milner Consolidated Silver Mines (ASE) are negotiating to sell their combined 51% stake in a small heap leach gold mine in Honduras.

Madeleine and Milner each holds 25.5% of Compania Minerales de Copan S.A. de C.V., the Honduran company which owns the 9,000-ton-per-month San Andres operation.

Under a proposed agreement, Madeleine and Milner will each receive undisclosed payments and work commitments on the property.

Officials at both companies were unavailable when The Northern Miner called to inquire about the nature of the proposed payments and extent of work commitments. But according to a press release, the proposal grants an unnamed buyer the option to purchase the property for $40 million until January, 1994. Madeleine recently announced plans to split into two companies, one of which will hold the 50% interest in the Lac des Iles palladium-platinum project near Thunder Bay. The other would hold the Honduras mine interest.

Convinced that a base metal bounty lies beneath the silver mines surrounding Cobalt, Ont., Legacy Explorations (CDN) is drilling a second deep hole on a claim group held by Agnico-Eagle Mines (TSE).

The 4,000-5,000 ft. hole follows a previous attempt to intersect potentially mineralized rhyolites below the old O’Brien mine. Unable to correct the drill bit’s excessive deviation, Legacy reached a depth of 3,600 ft. before abandoning the hole. Nothing of interest was reported on the drill logs.

“The hole was wandering,” said Legacy President Norm Sheriff. “We tried 10 wedges, at $3,000 per wedge.” He added that the nearby second hole, already at a depth of 2,000 ft., appears to be heading in the right direction. If Legacy reaches the rhyolite target, the company plans to proceed with a downhole pulse electromagnetic survey to test for base metal mineralization in the vicinity of the hole. Legacy is earning a 40% interest in the Coleman Twp. property.

Drilling is currently under way at the Loon Lake property near Wawa, Ont., where Mishibishu Gold (VSE) holds an option to acquire a 49% interest from Granges (TSE).

Mishibishu, expected to spend a total of $1 million on the claims, is testing at least three copper-lead-zinc anomalies discovered through detailed geochemical and geophysical surveys on the 107-claim property. The first target consists of coincident copper-lead-zinc anomalies within an area measuring 4,000×1,000 ft.

In the midst of hole 3, Mishibishu said the first two holes intersected sulphide zones. Results are pending.

Bond International Gold (NYSE), a subsidiary of Toronto-based LAC Minerals (TSE), said a strike by unionized workers at the El Indio gold-copper mine in Chile has ended.

The mine is held by Bond’s 83% owned affiliate Compania Minera El Indio. Bond said workers who have been on a legal strike since Aug. 1 voted to accept the company’s latest offer. A return to normal operations was expected to begin Aug. 27.

The El Indio complex is 300 miles north of Santiago and produced 216,000 oz. gold, 30,000 tons copper, and 1.4 million oz. silver in 1990.