Pueblo Viejo could be "tip of iceberg"

The Dominican Republic's Pueblo Viejo and Cerro Maimon gold deposits on the geological formation known as Los Ranchos could be just a small part of a very big gold district, according to state mining unit UCM. "Maybe Pueblo Viejo and Cerro Maimon could be just the tip of the iceberg in the Los Ranchos formation," UCM director Miguel Pena told BNamericas. "Cerro Maimon is small at 4Mt, but with more than 3% copper and a gold grade of 3g/t, it is in a privileged position from which to discover more gold in the zone," Pena said. Los Ranchos, formed in the Lower Cretaceous era, has six different zones: Cotui, Quita Sueno, Meladito, Platanal-Naviza, Zambrana and Pueblo Viejo. Canada's Placer Dome (NYSE: PDG) is working on the feasibility study on Pueblo Viejo, which has an estimated 16Moz of proven reserves grading 3.3g/t gold, 0.7% zinc and 20g/t, at a cutoff of 2.0g/t gold. The deposit was previously mined by a state-owned company, but operations ceased partly for technical and environmental reasons related to the sulfide ores. Globestar Mining (TSX: GMI) of Toronto is hoping to finish by August its feasibility study on the Cerro Maimon gold-copper project.