GOLD: Aurania allowed to deploy half of its team at Lost Cities – Cutucu

ECUADOR - Aurania Resources has reported that, following the partial lifting of COVID-related restrictions, its field teams are operational at the Lost Cities – Cutucu project in southeastern Ecuador. In a statement, the company’s chairman and CEO, Keith Barron, said that the reopening of the field is not yet 100% complete as a total lift depends on independent decisions taken by the mayors of the various cantons overlapping the Lost Cities concessions. “At this moment, only 50% of our normal field personnel are permitted – in the open cantons – legally to work. In addition, social distancing practices must be in force. Ecuador still remains in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation is somewhat volatile,” Barron said. According to the executive, Aurania's staff has implemented a comprehensive back-to-work protocol and is actively co-operating with the communities around the project area, the governor of the Morona Santiago province, and the ministry of health. The miner’s exploration teams re-entered the field in mid-June to start mapping and soil sampling on a number of priority targets for gold-silver, copper-gold and copper. For its summer campaign, Aurania is also planning to run a heliborne magnetotelluric survey to identify sulphides related to porphyries and epithermal gold-silver systems, as well as resistive zones that may represent silica-enriched areas linked with epithermals.