www.caminominerals.com/s/Home.asp
Camino Minerals Corp. is a new mineral exploration company that was formed in connection with Goldcorp Inc.'s acquisition of Canplats Resources Corp. ("Canplats"). Camino is led by Canplats' former management, has approximately C$10-million in the treasury and is focused on precious and base metal projects located in Mexico.
Strong Track Record has Camino Minerals on Firm Footing
Management often holds the key to success with any early-stage junior resource company, particularly those that have successfully demonstrated their ability to create shareholder value in the past. Vancouver-based Camino Minerals (TSX-V: COR) is one such company.
Camino is the spin-off Company formed in connection with Goldcorp Inc.'s C$300-million acquisition of Canplats Resources Corporation. Camino listed in April, 2010, and is led by the former management team of Canplats. This is the same team that generated a return of no less than 2000% to Canplats’ shareholders. With this kind of track record Camino is being closely followed.
Camino came out of the deal with four gold properties, all located in Mexico, plus C$10-million in cash.
Management’s stated goal was to replicate the success they had with Canplats, were they made a significant new gold discovery in 2007 named Camino Rojo. Within one year of discovery the Canplats had outlined Measured and Indicated resources of 3.4 million ounces of gold and 60.7 million ounces of silver.
A year after that, in the Fall of 2009, they delivered a strong Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which set off a bidding war between Goldcorp (TSX:G, NYSE:GG) and Minera Penmont (a company jointly owned by Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) and Newmont (NYSE:NEM)), which Goldcorp subsequently won. Shareholders of Canplats received C$4.60 in cash and 1 share of Camino. Prior to the discovery of Camino Rojo, Canplats shares could be had for less than 25 cents.
Although all of Camino’s exploration projects are at an early-stage, having been on the back burner while they developed Camino Rojo with Canplats, they have an excellent lineage. All of the projects were discovered by Perry Durning and Frank (Bud) Hillemeyer who were directly involved in the discovery of the San Sebastian silver-gold mine (formerly in production for Hecla Mining), the San Agustin gold deposit of Silver Standard (TSX:SSO), the Pitarrilla silver deposit of Silver Standard.
Camino has spent approximately C$2-million advancing its projects so far, including airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, mapping, and soil and stream sediment geochemical surveys. At the current burn rate the Company could last well into 2012 with no need to raise additional capital. That being said, Camino’s exploration expenditures will more than likely increase as it plans to drill two of its gold projects, El Rincon and Rodeo, in the first quarter of 2011.
El Rincon lies next door to Argonaut Gold’s El Castillo Gold Mine, located just 3-km away, and in close proximity to Silver Standard’s San Agustin gold deposit. The mineralization at El Rincon is very similar to that seen at El Castillo, which is an open pit, heap leach operation, with some 752,000 ounces of Proven and Probably gold reserves and 1.2 million ounces of Measured and Indicated gold resource. Soil sample results from El Rincon have returned grades of up to 4.03 grams per tonne gold within a gold-in-soils geochemical anomaly situated in the same north-east trending corridor that hosts El Castillo. The first stage of drilling at El Rincon, some 3,000 meters (m), is expected to begin sometime in January.
Rodeo has only seen a small portion of a 2-km long mineralised system drilled. Even so results from the earlier work is very encouraging, some highlights of a 2004 drill program include a 27m intersect grading 5.9g/t gold. Later drilling, in 2007, included at intersect of over 103m grading 0.23g/t gold and 8.7g/t silver. Work was halted at that time as the Canplats focussed in on its new Camino Rojo gold discovery. Camino is excited to return to Rodeo as it feels that not only is there a lot more potential along strike and the potential for bonanza grades at depth but also for a new discovery. Camino plans to drill Rodeo sometime in March, 2011.
Although all of these projects are early stage, Camino is an opportunity for those looking to get in on the ground floor of a junior resource company that could someday return spectacular capital gains. Simply put, this management team, with these types of early-stage projects, has done it before. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results but with early-stage junior resource companies it certainly tilts the odds in your favour.
