El Nino Ventures joins Phelps Dodge, BHP Billiton and First Quantum Minerals in Africa, setting up shop alongside the big boys in the unbelievably rich copper belt of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
It's a young Canadian company known as El Nino Ventures Inc., which is quickly maturing into a world-class operation under the steady hand of President/COO Jean Luc Roy, a mining professional with 20 years experience in African exploration and development.
As a former DRC managing director for First Quantum, Roy is the proud owner of a star-studded CV. And El Nino Ventures, with a market cap of $10 million, is attracting national attention as a golden investment opportunity at less than 60 cents a share (TSX.V-ELN).
"We're an emerging junior that offers a terrific opportunity for investors to get in on the ground floor of an exciting exploration program," explains Roy. "I strongly believe that base metals remain an outstanding long-term investment. Demand for these metals remains extremely strong out of Southeast Asia and that's not about to change," he adds.
In fact, Roy remains convinced that metals prices are currently in the third or fourth year of a 10-year megacycle. He thinks they will continue to ride high.
But let's back up a bit and continue with the introductions. Although a relatively new player, El Nino Ventures has already established a strong foothold in two of the world's most mineral-rich regions.
One is the DRC, where the company has launched an exploration program in a copper belt that yields ore demonstrably more pure than that found in the fields of Chile and Peru.
The other exciting project is based right here in Canada.
As a joint venture partner with XStrata Zinc Canada, El Nino is poised to bring state-of-the art technology to bear on a re-examination of the fabled Bathurst Zinc/Base Mining Camp in northern New Brunswick.
But more on that later.
Drawing on his years of African experience, Roy has put together a well-seasoned team of pros who are familiar with the lay of the land in the DRC. In partnership with a local team known as the GCP Group, El Nino is aggressively acquiring base metal projects in the region and serving as project operator for the current exploration program.
As a seasoned player, Roy has the connections and background to help him get things done in the area. In addition, a recently implemented DRC mining code has made it easier to do business in the Congo. And in the wake of last year's first-ever free elections, the political climate has improved immeasurably. The current administration is more stable than ever before and extremely friendly to foreign investors.
"Even better, our land position is situated in the prime exploration area of the DRC copper belt," Roy points out, adding that El Nino's neighbours include many of the largest players in the world.
Back in Canada, meanwhile, the provincial government of New Brunswick is also an enthusiastic supporter of El Nino's two-year, $10-million zinc exploration program. In fact, the province is matching El Nino and its joint-venture partner dollar for dollar on the project.
"We have spent quite a bit of time in target identification. Now we're ready to start drilling on these new targets, going deeper than anyone has gone before," Roy explains.
For the uninitiated, that drilling depth is well worth noting. El Nino Ventures enjoys access to revolutionary deep-imaging technology, namely the Titan 24 Geophysics Survey, developed by Quantec.
"It used to be impossible to access images that were deeper than 250 metres," says Roy.
"This new geophysics survey will outline anomalies as deep as one kilometre."
By the end of this month, El Nino will start drilling a minimum of 25,000 metres and continue the program through March 2008.
Why is Bathurst such a great place to be? Well, it's home to the world's largest underground zinc mine, for starters. Also, the provincial government is eager to support programs that can bring new jobs to the region. That means there's no problem for legitimate companies to acquire the necessary permits and approvals.
But, perhaps more importantly, infrastructure and processing plants are already in place. Should El Nino's exploration program prove successful, the company could swing into production within a year.
It all adds up to a fascinating opportunity for investors who are keen on starting fresh with an outstanding junior that brings a quality business plan and an intelligent execution strategy to the table.
Stop by the website (www.elninoventures.com). And for more details, please contact Fern Turner, Investor Relations, in the Vancouver office: 1.800.667.1870. Or email: info@elninoventures.com.
