On
November 11, 1999 Vega-Atlantic Corp formally agreed to purchase
100% of Golden Cycle De Panama Inc. The acquisition is due to
be finalised in December. Golden Cycle has a concession of 3,000
hectares to exploit gold at Veraguas, a northern province of the
Republic of Panama. The concession contains hard rock and alluvial
gold prospects. Mining in the area dates back to pre-Columbian
times. Spanish colonists found gold in the Barrera and Santiago
river areas using the basic techniques of that time which eventually
led to the expansion of the Margasas and Cocuyo mines that became
famous in the region.
The
Panama Corporation used the concession during the depression
when gold and the cost of labor were both low. Apparently gold
production was profitable for both the Spanish and the Panama
Corp. There has been little development during the last century
since when the concession has been privately owned. Over the past
30 years exploration and mining has focused on developing the
lucrative placer mining aspect and the hard rock potential has
been neglected.
A
report by a firm of engineering consultants to the previous
owners indicated that the hard rock potential of the area was
even greater than the placer potential. Thick vegetation in the
area has hindered previous efforts to properly explore the concession.
The success of future exploration depends on access to the region
and so the Company plans to build a 20 mile road from Santa Fe
into the concession.
Exploration
in hard rock areas will start from the dormant, Margasas and
Cocuyo gold mines where significant gold finds have been reported.
Alluvial situations that have been recently explored will also
be investigated for their potential. The Company is excited by
the new acquisition and its plans to promote the area's exploration
and development, since no modern exploration techniques have yet
been applied to this historic gold producing site.