El Valle-Boinás/Carlés History

Orovalle Minerals S.L. (“Orovalle”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orvana Minerals Corp. The Orovalle Operation includes: 

 

• El Valle Boinás and Carlés gold-copper-silver mines, located in Asturias, Spain, in the municipalities of Belmonte de Miranda and Salas, along with the El Valle processing plant and El Valle tailings storage facility (TSF), collectively, the El Valle Operation. 

• La Brueva and Quintana projects, located in Asturias, Spain, in the municipality of Belmonte de Miranda, which consist of mineral rights not currently being exploited. 

• Ortosa-Godán project, located in Asturias, Spain, in the municipality of Salas, which consists of mineral rights not currently being exploited. 

• Lidia project, located in Asturias, Spain, in the municipality of Allande, which consists of mineral rights not currently being exploited. 

• Chugaron, La Linde and Goya projects, located in Asturias, Spain, in the municipalities of Tineo, Allande and Cangas del Narcea, which consists of mineral rights not currently being exploited.

• Palmira project, located in Asturias, Spain, in the municipality of Boal, which consists of mineral rights not currently being exploited. 

The El Valle Operation is located in the Rio Narcea Gold Belt in Northern Spain. This area was mined by the Romans about 2,000 years ago. Modern gold exploration commenced at the El Valle area during the 1970s and over the next 20 years companies like Anglo American and Goldfields evaluated the gold potential with drilling and underground exploration drifts. Rio Narcea Gold Mines (“RNGM”) mined gold by open- pit methods from 1997 until 2004, at which time underground mining began. The mine closed in 2006 after producing approximately 950,000 ounces of gold and over 20,000 tonnes of copper. In 2007, RNGM sold the El Valle Operation to Orovalle (previously denominated Kinbauri España, S.L.). Orvana acquired the El Valle Operation in 2009, as a result of its acquisition of Kinbauri Gold (owner of Kinbauri España, S.L.).