Volcan History
The first recorded recognition of the mineral potential of the Volcan area was by Europeans in the 17th century and was focused on sulphur. The native sulphur deposits were reportedly exploited in the 19th century and used to manufacture sulphuric acid. In 1988, a reserve estimate for the Volcan sulphur deposit of 4.7 Mt at a grade of 40% sulphur was published by the Chilean government organisation Centro de Investigaciones Metalurgicas y Mineras (CIMM) in the Boletin Minero.
Gold exploration at Volcan commenced in 1990, when the property was optioned to Minera Homestake (Chile) Limitada, which conducted a program of reconnaissance geology. Over a period of three years, Homestake conducted 2,980 meters of reverse circulation drilling in addition to preliminary geological and geophysical surveys.
In 1994, Compañia Minera Cameco (Chile) Ltda (Cameco) acquired an option on the property and over the following 3 years conducted 3,980 metres of reverse circulation drilling and 3,290 metres of diamond drilling. The majority of the drilling was focused on the Cerro Dorado East zone where drilling and metallurgical testing were encouraging.