Peru eyes Limamayo copper auction for Dec 20
Peru could auction its promising Limamayo copper deposit on Dec. 20 if the Energy and Mines Ministry does not give organizers more time to prepare the sale for April, the state-run Mining, Geology and Metallurgy Institute of Peru (INGEMMET) said on Wednesday.
No bidders turned up for the last Limamayo auction in October and INGEMMET blamed the failure on the Ministry for rushing things forward from the original date in December.
INGEMMET said it asked for a six-month delay to set up a new sale and give interested bidders time to visit the Limamayo site in southeastern Peru.
"We had asked for a six-month extension but (the Ministry) has only given us three months. If we don't get the extension for April the auction will be on Dec. 20".
INGEMMET said that Limamayo, located in the Andes some 728 miles (1,165 km) southeast of Lima, has up to 3,254 parts per million of copper and 4,708 parts per million of zinc in the areas where most leaching was possible.It also has 4,547 parts per million of lead and 101 grams per tonne of silver.
Limamayo is a 43,500 acre (17,600 hectare) property in the same geological belt as Las Bambas and BHP Billiton's Tintaya copper mine.
INGEMMET said ten groups had qualified for the October auction, including Peru's Atacocha and Minera Ares; Vale do Rio Doce of Brazil; BHP Billiton Tintaya; Canada's Southwestern Resources Corp. and Inmet Mining Corp.; and private Swiss company Glencore International AG.
(From Reuters, November 17, 2004)
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