El Indio Gold Belt

In Chile the district was first officially recognized in 1975 and operated in 1979. El Indio, the main mine in the area was discovered in 1975 by St. Joe Minerals, and placed in production in 1981, with initial production of bonanza gold from quartz-gold veins: 500, 000 MT @ 121 g/MT Au. Total production plus reserves was quoted (circa 2000) as 23.2 mt @ 6.6 g/t Au, 50 g/t Ag, 4% Cu. Individual drill samples in the bonanza for assay were so rich, visible gold could be easily panned from the assay pulps. Gold reserves in the belt located within Argentina may be as high as 35 million ounces. The El Indio mine closed in 2002, and the site has since been reclaimed. ==Companies with interests in the region==

• Malbex ('''''') - nano cap company that operates 3 projects 2 near the Valadero and Pascua-Lama mines (Arroyo de Los Amarillos and Los Despoblados). The largest is the Del Carmen gold-silver project on the Argentine side of the belt (south end). • Barrick Gold - Owns the Valadero and Pascua Lama deposits (over 17.5 million ounces of gold at Pascua Lama). It is also engaged in exploration activity in Chile. Has operated in the region since 1994. • Silver Wheaton - has an agreement with Barrick Gold to purchase 25% of the silver mined at Pascua Lama between 2013 and 2017. • ATW Gold Corp. ('''''') - Australian mining company that oversees the Amarillo project in San Juan Province (Argentina). • Yamana Gold - Explores east of the Los Amarillos concessions. Yamana signed 4 gold exploration agreements in Region de Coquimbo, Chile in 1996 (13,200 hectares of land). • MegaMoly Inc. ('''''') - Has interests through the Amarillo property in San Juan, Argentina (7,200 hectares on the Argentine side of the Andes). Primarily in the business of molybdenum and tungsten exploration (in Slovakia), it is part of Terreno Resources Corp. • NGEx Resources Inc. ('''''') - Small cap (over $100 million) Vancouver based company with copper containing assets in central Chile. Owns 100% of Colmillos and Andrea copper projects. • Royal Gold - Royalty company with a 3% to 5% claim on Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama mine. ==References==