31 May 2012 07:00
31 May 2012
Touchstone Gold
Touchstone Gold announces a further acquisition in the exciting South Bolivar area
London, 31 May 2012 - Touchstone Gold Limited (AIM: TGL) ("Touchstone Gold" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement with an individual land owner through its wholly owned subsidiary, Touchstone Colombia ("TSC"), to acquire a 90% interest in a mining concession that complements its Santa Rosa Project located in the well known gold mining district in the south of the Bolivar Department, Colombia.
Highlights:
·; Option to earn a 90% interest in a concession located near the Company's Santa Rosa Project in the south of Bolivar, Colombia
·; Highly prospective area hosts multiple gold bearing vein type systems in a gold province that is home to a number of international gold mining and exploration companies
·; The concession covers a total land area of approximately 11km sq
·; Artisanal gold operations on the project both underground and on surface
·; Further consolidates gold exploration assets in the south of Bolivar Department
This acquisition extends the land package acquisition announced on 5 March 2012, and provides further expansion into an area that is recognised widely as being attractive and highly prospective with extensive artisanal activity.
David Wiley, CEO of Touchstone Gold, commented: "Our earlier acquisition of a 57km sq package in the Santa Rosa area, which has historically hosted high grade deposits of gold, is an important strategic expansion, and I am pleased to announce a further and important addition to our land package. A number of large companies have been active in attempting to establish a foothold in this key area of Colombia and the Santa Rosa Project in total is now something that will become an integral part of our future."
David Wiley added: "As previously noted, I look forward to announcing further plans about our exploration activity in this area in due course."
Summary of Material Contract Terms
Touchstone Gold, through its subsidiary TSC, has entered into an agreement with the individual landowner to acquire a 90 percent interest in the property, conditional on various staged payments, and payable over a four-year period from the signing of this agreement.
Further Information
The Santa Rosa Project area (see Map 1 below) is underlain by a mix of granodiorites, synogranodiorities, quartz monzonites and tonalites. These rocks host many of the plutonic hosted mesothermal gold deposits in northeastern Colombia, including the Segovia-Remedios Gold belt which collectively has produced in excess of 24 million ounces of gold. The Santa Rosa Project area is host to a number of gold bearing vein type systems, which vary in width and strike length. These vein systems appear to be radiating from what could be a larger intrusive centre in the area.
At present, there are numerous artisanal gold operations in the area, consisting of both underground mining operations that follow veins and shears, and alluvial gold operations, reflecting the gold endowment of the project. The Company remains committed to rapidly advancing the exploration programme and drill testing the known gold workings over the coming months.
Mr. John Nicholson, P.Geo has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person, as required under the AIM rules. Mr. Nicholson is chief geologist of the Company and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, has a BSc. from the University of British Columbia, and has been an accredited member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia since 1992. Mr. Nicholson is supervising the work programmes on the Rio Pescado Project and will also develop and supervise the programme on the Santa Rosa Project area.
For Map 1: New concession in relation to existing Santa Rosa Project, please click on the link below:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4681E_-2012-5-30.pdf
Touchstone Gold
David Wiley Tel. +1 647 260 1247
Chief Executive Officer
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Advisor and Joint Corporate Broker)
John Prior Tel. +44 20 7523 8350
Seb Jones Tel. +44 20 7523 8350
Northland Capital Partners Limited (Joint Corporate Broker)
Gavin Burnell Tel. +44 20 7796 8800
Edward Hutton Tel. +44 20 7796 8800
John-Henry Wicks Tel. +44 20 7796 8800
Merlin
Ian Middleton Tel. +44 20 7726 8400
Anca Spiridon Tel. +44 20 7726 8400
About Touchstone Gold
Touchstone Gold is a gold exploration company and the 100% owner of the Rio Pescado Project in Colombia, comprising four mining concessions over a total area of 39 square kilometres in the highly prospective Segovia Gold Belt. It owns further options on the Santa Rosa Project, in the South Bolivar area of Colombia, comprising four proposed mining concessions and one mining concession over a total area of 68 square kilometres. With a philosophy of creating value by the systematic exploration and development of the Company's existing assets as well as the acquisition of suitable exploration and development mineral projects, the Company's long-term intention is to build a significant gold exploration and production company.