Antofagasta PLC
14 November 2006
Antofagasta plc
Antofagasta announces agreement with Ascendant Copper Corporation to develop
the Chaucha Project in Ecuador
London, 14 November 2006
Antofagasta plc ('Antofagasta') is pleased to announce that it has signed a
Letter of Agreement ('Agreement') with Ascendant Copper Corporation
('Ascendant'), a mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, to acquire
an interest in Ascendant's Chaucha Project. The Chaucha Project is a
copper-molybdenum prospect located in the Western Cordillera of the Andes in
southern Ecuador, approximately 70 kilometres west of the town of Cuenca. The
mineral concession covers an area of 2,544 hectares with applications by
Ascendant in progress for further mineral concessions from the appropriate
government entities.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Antofagasta has the right to earn up to an
undivided 60% interest in the Chaucha Project. The interest will be acquired by
earning an equity interest in Compania Minera DosRios S.A. ('DosRios'), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascendant which holds (or will hold) all of the
mineral concessions associated with the Chaucha Project.
Antofagasta has committed to fund at least US$1 million of expenditure (after
which it has the right to terminate the Agreement at any time) and will
subsequently earn its equity interest in successive stages by spending a total
US$40 million over a six-year period in four distinct phases of qualifying
expenditures. These expenditures will cover exploration and advancement costs
including, in the later phases, preparation of a feasibility study and a final
payment on completion to Ascendant.
Marcelo Awad, CEO of the mining division, Antofagasta Minerals S.A., commented,
'We are very pleased to announce this agreement with Ascendant. The agreement
will further develop Antofagasta's portfolio of exploration prospects in this
part of Latin America, complementing our existing operations in Chile and
representing a further step in our strategy of expanding internationally.'
+--------------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|Enquiries - London | Enquiries - Santiago |
+--------------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|Antofagasta plc | Antofagasta Minerals S.A.|
|Tel: +44 20 7808 0988 | Tel: +562 377 5070|
|www.antofagasta.co.uk | |
| | Ricardo Muhr|
| | Email: rmuhr@aminerals.cl|
|Desmond O'Conor | |
|Email: doconor@antofagasta.co.uk | |
| | |
| | Issued by|
|Hussein Barma | Bankside Consultants|
|Email: hbarma@antofagasta.co.uk | Tel: +44 20 7367 8873|
| | |
| | |
| | Keith Irons|
| | Email: keith@bankside.com|
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This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange