MinMet buys into Longyear, expands country presence

E&D, the Panamanian subsidiary of Irish minerals company MinMet (LSE: MNT), has agreed to option up to 60% of the Dominican Republic's 1,090ha Longyear gold concession from Canada's Energold Mining (TSX-V: EGD), MinMet announced. For US$1.5mn, E&D (Exploration & Discovery Latin America) can earn a 60% share in Longyear within three years following a 1,000m drill program, expected to start within six months of finalizing the agreement. E&D can later increase ownership to 80% by taking Longyear to the feasibility stage, MinMet said. Energold has conducted soil sampling, trenching and drilling at Longyear, defining sub-economic gold mineralization at the property's Loma La Mina section. Further, geology, alteration and geochemistry have spotted a drill target within 2.5km of Longyear's Pueblo Viejo pit. The Longyear news comes as MinMet expands its presence in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican government has already granted the Irish company full title to the Piedra Iman, Loma Resbalosa and Punta Larga exploration concessions, all neighboring Longyear. But MinMet is backing out of its Bacco y Ofir gold project in the Dominica Republic, saying it has no plans for further exploration after drill results "failed to show any depth extent to the surface gold geochemistry." WELLINGTON COVE Finally, in corporate news, Canada's Wellington Cove Explorations has decided to acquire E&D, though MinMet plans to hold "a significant equity position" in Wellington after the transaction's completion, expected by March 31, 2004, MinMet said. "E&D has assembled a highly prospective gold exploration land package in the Dominican Republic, centered around Pueblo Viejo - a long-running gold mine - and this transaction will ensure that the exploration of these properties are fast tracked," MinMet CEO Michael Nolan said.