New Pacific Metals (TSX:NUAG, NYSE:NEWP) Corp. has announced that Bolivia's Jurisdictional Mining Administrative Authority (AJAM) has granted an Administrative Mining Contract (AMC) for the company's Silver Sand Project.
The company said all required registration, notarization and publication steps to perfect the title of the AMC in favour of Empresa Minera Alcira S.A., the company's wholly-owned Bolivian subsidiary, are complete.
The AMC establishes a clear title to the Silver Sand Project mineral rights. In accordance with Bolivia's Mining Laws. New Pacific submitted all required documents for the consolidation and conversion of the original seventeen ATEs (Temporary Special Authorizations) that comprised the Silver Sand Project to cuadriculas and an AMC to AJAM.
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The AMC for the Silver Sand Project was signed with AJAM in 2020, registered and notarized before Bolivia's National Mining Registry on June 17, 2021, and published in AJAM's Mining Gazette on July 15, 2021.
The AMC for the Silver Sand Project, which hosts the Silver Sand deposit, covers an area of 3.17 square kilometres (km2). The total area under full control of the company will be 5.42 km2 after completing the consolidation and conversion procedures for the North Block, which is comprised of three ATEs - Jisas, Jardan and El Bronce.
In a statement, Dr Mark Cruise, CEO of New Pacific said: "We are very pleased by the receipt of the AMC and mineral rights for the Silver Sand Project. In addition to our 2021 drill program and the advancement of the PEA work, the AMC unequivocally establishes title for the Project."
Exploration and mining rights in Bolivia are granted by the Ministry of Mines and Metallurgy through AJAM. A new and complete Mining and Metallurgy Law No. 535 was introduced in May 2014, which was modified by Law No. 845 in October 2016.
Under the Mining Law, tenure is granted as either an exploration license for early-stage projects or an AMC for a development-stage project. Tenure held under the previous 'historic' legislation was converted to ATEs, formerly known as 'mining concessions', under the Mining Law.
These ATEs are required to be consolidated to new 25-hectare sized cuadriculas and then converted to AMCs. AMCs created by conversion recognize existing rights of exploration and exploitation and development, including treatment, foundry refining/smelting, and trading.
AMCs have a fixed term of 30 years and can be extended for a further 30 years if certain conditions are met. Each AMC requires ongoing work and the submission of technical work plans to AJAM.
New Pacific is a Canadian exploration and development company with precious metal projects, including the flagship Silver Sand Project, the Silverstrike Project and the Carangas Project, all of which are located in Bolivia.
The company is focused on progressing the development of the Silver Sand Project, while growing its Mineral Resources through the exploration and acquisition of properties in the Americas.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com