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Copper in Peru and Diamonds and Gold in Brazil
Tiomin continues to own two major projects in Peru and Kenya and is working hard to restore shareholder value after the difficult period with the development of the Kwale Project. Management evaluated almost 40 projects from mid-2007 to early 2010 and recently entered in a definitive arrangement with Vaaldiam Resources Inc, a diamond operating and exploration company with assets in Brazil and Canada. Following completion of the transaction, the resulting company will be able to bring the Duas Barras Mine, one of the Vaaldiam operations in Brazil, back in production in the first half of 2010, after it was placed on care and maintenance in late 2008. Vaaldiam provides extensive coverage of the Brazilian projects on their website: www.vaaldiam.com.
We are working to extract shareholder value from the Pukaqaqa Copper Project in Peru, in which we own a 49% interest. This copper-gold deposit is located 15km northwest of Huancavelica, Peru. Pukaqaqa was previously the subject of extensive exploration by Rio Tinto Mining between 1996 and 2000, where 17,590 meters of drilling were completed. In 2005, Tiomin and its joint venture partner Compania Minera Milpo S.A. (51%) completed 6,000 meters of drilling and proceeded with the preparation of a new resource of 17.1 million tonnes grading 0.54% Cu, and an inferred resources of 114.6 million tonnes grading 0.60% Cu, at a cut-off grade 0.3% Cu. The project has excellent infrastructure and growth potential. Tiomin is optimistic that the Pukaqaqa project will create significant value for its shareholders in view of the strong outlook for commodities such as copper.
In Kenya, Tiomin is now considering its alternatives after the Jinchuan Group of China pulled out of the transaction to acquire 70% of Tiomin Kenya and develop the Kwale Project. This includes selling the assets in Kenya . Steps have been taken to find a buyer with the financial and technical resources to take over and develop the titanium properties.
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