Encrucijada
The Encrucijada silver/gold property is located in Chile's Region II, 85 km southeast of Taltal, 210 km north of Copiapo city and 120 km south of Yamana's El Peñon silver/gold mine. The property encompasses 13,700 ha.
Encrucijada is a joint venture with Hochschild, where Hochschild can earn up to 60% ownership. To earn 51%, Hochschild has paid Andina $0.5 million and is in the process of spending $3.0 million on exploration over 36 months. Hochschild may then increase its ownership to 60% by funding the first $3.5 million towards a feasibility study within the next 36 months.
The property is underlain by a silver/gold bearing epithermal vein system which has received limited exploration to date. The veins are exposed in an erosional window through a shallow layer of gravels which covers the majority of the property. Surface chip sampling of the veins, completed by Newmont, returned gold values up to 8.4 grams per tonne gold and numerous samples greater than 100 grams per tonne silver. A series of shallow drill holes totaling 2,072 meters completed by Newmont did not return significant results.
To date, Hochschild has completed mapping and trenching and is conducting a drill program focused on several prioritized targets.