June 27 (SeeNews) - Canadian exploration company EurOmax Resources said on Friday that an independent estimate conducted by Broad Oak of Toronto shows that Macedonia’s Ilovitza site contains major quantities of copper and gold.
“It is arguably one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold resources in Europe” EurOmax Resources’ chairman and CEO John Menzies said in a statement, adding that drilling will continue near the site.
EurOmax Resources signed an option agreement last June to acquire a 100% interest in four copper and gold deposits in Macedonia, including Ilovitza.
“The results conclude that the Ilovitza deposit contains an inferred resource of 303 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.31 grams per tonne gold and 0.005% molybdenum. This resource contains approximately 1.6 billion pounds of copper, 2.9 million ounces of gold and 3.5 million pounds of molybdenum”, the EurOmax statement said.
Ilovitza is located near the southeastern Macedonian city of Strumica, close to the Bulgarian and Greek borders.
EurOmax bought the option from U.S. copper giant Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. subsidiaries Phelps Dodge Vardar DOOEL and Phelps Dodge Exploration Corp. for $600,000 (381,000 euro) plus the issuance of 100,000 EurOmax shares.
The four Comprise the Kazandol copper project in eastern Macedonia, the Ilovitza copper-gold concession in the northwest, the Iberli copper concession application and the Shopur gold concession application.
EurOmax is engaged in copper and gold exploration projects in Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia.
($ = 0.6352 euro)
(1 pound=0.45 kg, 1 ounce=28.3 grams)