In September 2009 Horizonte signed an Exploration Alliance agreement with AngloGold Ashanti Limited («AngloGold»). Under the agreement AngloGold has funded, US$900,000 in projec generation exploration expenditure, undertaken and managed by Horizonte.
At its own discretion, AngloGold may elect to provide a further US$1.4 million at the end of the initial 12 months (‘Year 2’) followed by an additional US$3 million over the third year. All expenditure has and will be in accordance with programmes and budgets prepared by Horizonte and approved by AngloGold.
On completion of the three year expenditure programme each property or properties comprising a target area will be subject to a separate joint venture (each a ‘Target Area JV’), with the ownership interests in each such Target Area JV apportioned 51% to AngloGold and 49% to Horizonte. AngloGold may elect, in its absolute discretion, to earn up to an additional 19% (70% total) in a Target Area JV by funding ongoing exploration expenditure to complete a Pre-Feasibility Study in any Target Area JV within three years from that vesting date.
To date Horizonte has collected over 2000 samples (stream and rock) and completed the proposed Year 1 field programs on time and on budget. In August it presented its initial report on the first year activities and a proposed Year 2 budget program to AngloGold. In total over half a million hectares (5000km2) were sampled on priority blocks within a program area of over 40,000km 2 .
The Horizonte management is confident that AngloGold will approve the proposed budget program including follow-up of a number of targets and expansion of the target generation program for Year 2. A decision expected in early September.
TANGARA
Tangara is located within the Carajas Mineral Province, it covers 36,395 hectares including a 32 km long greenstone belt of Archean aged terrain.
The area was claimed after evaluation of historical exploration reports from the 1980’s by CVRD. Horizonte initiated its activities with a regional soil grid that delineated a +50 ppb gold anomaly which extends for over 5 km and varies from 600m to 800m in width. This grid has since been extended and three main target zones have been identified along the 32km strike length of the greenstone belt.
Horizonte signed a formal Option Agreement with Troy Resources (ASX:TRY) (‘Troy’) in December 2007to operate and develop the Tangara Gold Project and fast track its development entitling Troy to 100% interest in he Tangara project. To maintain the option Troy has made cash payments totalling US$400,000 to Horizonte and invesed US$2 million in exploration on the project, To excercise Troy will make a further payment of US$2 million to the Company before december 2010. Troy will then make a production royalty payment to Horizonte of US$30 for every ounce of gold produced from the Tangara project area up to a maximum of 500,000oz. In the event of more than 500,000oz being produced, a 1% Net Smelter Royalty (‘NSR’) shall apply. This royalty will increase to 2% NSR in the event of production exceeding 1 million oz.
In 2009 the Troy JV concentrated on the Rio Maria West area where exploration outlined 4 east-west trending shear zones that host a series of old workings, anomalous quartz vein grab samples and gold in-soil anomalism. The bedrock geology comprises mafic metavolcanic rocks with a small contribution of ultramafic metavolcanics, felsic intrusive and metasediments.
The quartz veins strike N260°E-N280°E and are hosted by silicified and sericite altered basalts and metasediments. The host rocks are intensively sheared with late faulting associated with thrust faults. Artisinal gold workings are located within the Rio Maria West shear trend have yielded rock grab samples from float and outcropping veins with values up to 36.75g/t. South of the main trend another anomalous zone was defined over 1600m with four zones over 100ppb and a maximum of 811ppb in the soils. Rock chips yielded up to 2.2g/t gold.
In the northern part of the JV area the focus was on the preparation of the Final Exploration Report on the 100 sq km exploration license covering the Malvinas Trend, the central part of which is characterised by a 2.5 km long zone formed by two major trends where soil samples values range from +0.25g/t to 2.4g/t gold. The first trend is over 1,600m long and is 100m to 300m wide while the second trend is 600m long and 300m wide. Both trends are associated with numerous multi-gram rock sample gold results, the best of which in geological terms, are related to a massive pyrite, sericite, quartz alteration zone which has returned assays of up to 14.8g/t gold in rock chips.
To prioritise and define additional drill targets along the Malvinas Trend an infill soil programme was carried out and Troy contracted the Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET) of The University of Western Australia to assist with a generation of a new series of conceptual and empirical targets. Preliminary results are expected in Q3 2010.
The Board considers the JV with Troy as a good strategic transaction for the Company. By the end of 2009 Troy had spent just over US$2.5M in exploration expenditure in the JV areas.
In late 2008 production commenced at Troy’s Andorinhas gold mine located approximately 18 kilometers to the south of the Tangara project. Mining of the open pit ore from the Lagoa Seca open cut pit was completed in November 2008 and current ore production is dominantly from the underground mining of the Mamao deposit. It is highly probable that any resources defined on the Tangara project will be treated at the Andorinas plant producing mid term cash flow for the Company.
FALCĂO
The Falcao project is located 175 km south of the Tangara project. Falcao was a BHP grassroots discovery identified by regional stream sediment sampling. The anomaly consists of multiple sample locations running anomalous gold, copper and silver values, within a 50 km2 zone. The stream sediment programme was followed-up by a regional soil grid and shallow auger drill programme on a 800m by 200m grid which defined the main area of interest as an open 6 km long anomalous gold/copper and zinc/silver/gold zone.
Limited wide spaced reverse circulation (‘‘RC’’) drilling campaign was undertaken which yielded intersections including 9m at 4.8g/t gold from surface, 3m at 4g/t gold from 57m, and 24m at 0.5g/t gold including 3m at 2.8g/t gold. This latter result was from a hole which was drilled outside the main soil geochemical anomaly.
An extensive geochemical sampling and mapping programme is to be completed to define follow up drill targets. Quotes are currently being obtained for an aeromagnetic / radiometric survey and initial diamond drilling program. Horizonte has been making good progress towards resolving land access and is working towards implementing a drilling campaign on the site in partnership with a major gold producer.
