Goldcorp to Aquire Andean Resources


Core samples from Andean Resources’ Cerro Negro
gold project in southern Argentina. (Photo courtesy of
Andean Resources).
Goldcorp and Andean Resources announced an agreement in early September 2010 whereby Goldcorp will acquire Andean for approximately C$3.6 billion in cash and Goldcorp shares. The transaction was approved by the boards of both companies and will be subject to, among other things, the favorable vote of 75% of the issued and outstanding Andean shares present and voting in person or represented by proxy at a meeting to consider and approve the arrangement and the affirmative vote of more than 50% of holders of Andean shares present and voting at such meeting as required under Australian law.

Andean is headquartered in Western Australia. The company’s principal asset is its 100%-owned, advanced-stage Cerro Negro gold project in Santa Cruz province, southern Argentina. The property encompasses 215 km2 and currently has reported indicated resources of 2.54 million oz of gold and 23.56 million oz of silver. Inferred resources total 523,000 oz of gold and 3.12 million oz of silver. A feasibility study completed by Andean suggests mining at Cerro Negro will be principally from underground mines, based on the geometry of near-vertical veins that remain open at depth.

Cerro Negro also contains several vein structures not currently included in resource estimates, including the Mariana Central zone, where numerous recent drill intercepts have demonstrated high-grade gold and silver over significant widths. Ten prospect areas with manifestations of epithermal gold mineralization have been identified within the Cerro Negro project boundary. Only two of these have been subject to systematic drilling by Andean.

The Cerro Negro project is located at an elevation of about 750 m on the Patagonian plains. Project infrastructure is excellent, with access to the property via 54 km of bitumen and 80 km of gravel roads from the nearest provincial town of Las Heras, 110 km to the northeast. The main regional center of Comodoro Rivadavia, population 140,000, has port and airport facilities, and is located 160 km northeast of Las Heras.

As featured in Womp 2010 Vol 08 - www.womp-int.com