Minotaur moves into South America’s minerals sector

South America’s copper-gold potential has attracted another Australian explorer...

  South America’s copper-gold potential has attracted another Australian explorer, with Minotaur Exploration announcing its entry into Chile’s burgeoning copper exploration sector.The Chilean expansion represents the third leg to date of Adelaide-based Minotaur’s rapid push overseas in the past 12 months – the company already establishing a foothold in Canada and Spain.Minotaur yesterday announced it would partner AIM-listed Mariana Resources to explore the Buenaventura IOCG project in a joint venture with title-holder, Sociedad Minera Contractual Buenaventura.Under the joint venture, Minotaur and Mariana may earn a 51% participating interest in Buenaventura by spending US$3m over an initial three years. In the first 12 months, Minotaur will contribute US$300,000 of the required US$400,000 minimum JV commitment, after which the two companies will meet the remaining exploration budget on a 50-50 basis.Mariana’s JV interest will be held through Compania Minera de Chile Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary.“Our overseas portfolio is now becoming a significant, but largely externally funded, portion of our total exploration and development business and potentially an influential contributor to our future project upside,” Minotaur’s Managing Director, Derek Carter said.“Importantly, the Chilean expansion is the first tangible evidence of the finessing of our overseas growth strategy to now focus on sites which have known mineralisation, as a balance to our other greenfields projects,” he said.“In particular, this Chilean project has near drill-ready targets adjacent to known copper-gold mineralisation.”