Dec 29 2012
Azul Ventures Inc. ("Azul", or the "Company") announced that it had decided to drop the Findel option agreement (Hogar, Lolita, Santa Rosa and Santa Gertrudis mineral rights) and the Company did not make the US$165,000 option payment under the agreement which was due on December 15, 2012.
The Company regards the Findel Property as non-core and peripheral to the main mineralized zone on the La Higuera Property on which future exploration drilling and development will be planned. The focus of the Company's exploration at the La Higuera Property will be on the San Antonio, Mina Sol and La Sin Nombre mineral rights. Option payments on these properties, under renegotiated terms totaling US$114,000, were made earlier in December.
In addition, as recently announced, terms were renegotiated on the Andale and Benja mineral rights agreements allowing the Company to earn a 100% interest in all of the mining concession that are subject to those option agreements solely through the issuance of Azul common shares, eliminating any future cash payments.
As a result of dropping the Findel option agreement, the La Higuera Property now consists of five separate agreements over 1,119 hectares (down from six agreements over 1,230 hectares). A map of concessions at the La Higuera Property is attached below in Figure 1.
David O'Connor, President and CEO, said, "While we would have preferred to maintain the Findel property option, we were not willing to make the scheduled US$165,000 payment on a part of the La Higuera Property that has been assessed by the Company to be a non-core part of our future exploration plans. The mineral rights blocks within the remaining five agreements cover the core of the most prospective zone at La Higuera, on which two open pit mines are currently exploiting copper oxide ore and beneath which the Company believes there is substantial high grade copper sulphide mineralization."
Amended and Restated Loan Agreement with Directors and Officers
The Company has also entered into amended and restated loan agreements with Tony Wonnacott, a director of the Company and Brad Boland, the Company's Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Under these loan agreements, a total of $930,000 has now been made available and advanced to the Company. In addition, the Company entered into loan agreements with David O'Connor, President, CEO and a director of the Company and Francisco Schubert, the Company's Chilean Country Manager, under which US$120,000 has been made available and advanced to the Company. The loans accrue interest at a rate of 10% per annum and is payable at the end of the term of the loan on January 15, 2013. The loans are unsecured and there are no conversion provisions.
Source: http://www.azul-ventures.com/