Colombia

Rich in Natural Resources

Colombia is rich in mineral and energy resources, with a history dating back to the days of El Dorado and the Spanish Conquistadors. Today, the country is the world's leading producer of emeralds, and South America’s second largest gold producer and only platinum producer. Colombia also boasts the largest coal reserves, second largest oil, and third largest natural gas reserves in South America. This bounty of natural resources has established Colombia as a top tier international destination for exploration, mining, and investment activity.

Investment and Business Friendly

The business climate in Colombia is stable and friendly to foreign investment. The country’s population of 43 million has a well-educated and growing middle class. As the oldest and most stable democracy in South America, Colombia has never defaulted on a foreign loan or expropriated foreign assets, as has happened in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and recently in Ecuador.

Since President Alvaro Uribe’s election in August 2002, the security situation in Colombia has improved significantly. Mr. Uribe was re-elected for a second term as president on May 28th, 2006 by more than a 70% margin. The government now has the upper hand politically, and most importantly, from a stand point of popular support. Under President Uribe, the general consensus is that a new era of stability and prosperity has dawned for Colombia.
 

Discovery Potential

Until the early 20th Century, Colombia accounted for over 30% of world-wide gold production. This production was primarily from small scale, labor intensive artisanal lode and placer production. The highly prospective geologic terrenes that host world class copper, gold and silver deposits of the Andean Cordillera extends through Chile, Perú and Ecuador northward through Colombia. Relative to these other Andean countries, Colombia remains under explored.

Existing lode gold mining operations managed by Colombian companies at Marmato and Frontino demonstrate the potential for large scale mining in the country. Recently very large gold discoveries have been made by Greystar Resources and Anglogold and appear to be the first indications of world class gold discovery potential in Colombia. Beginning 2 years ago, the Company has been building a portfolio of gold properties in these same mineral belts.