Condor Mines: Reinvented Condor Blanco Mines targeting near-term production

Condor Blanco Mines (ASX:CDB) is a reinvented company, according to managing director Glen Darby, who is creating a business focused on near-term production in Turkey and Ecuador rather than blue sky opportunities in Chile.As transformations go this is quite radical - yet it is being enacted on a shoestring budget that might struggle to cover the annual expenses of the average mining executive.Take for instance the Uludere project. Ultimately, Condor could pay up to $3mln to take a 75% stake in the lead-zinc-silver prospect in eastern Turkey's Şırnak province.However the initial outlay to get trial mining started will be a bargain-basement $150,000.In fact this process is already underway with the first of two pits opened and the ore being trucked to a nearby flotation plant. Off-take terms for this material have also been agreed.Darby expects this initial phase to be self-funding, as well as giving a better indication of the potential of the Uludere. The area was last mined in the 2006-7 zinc boom when the metal was changing hands for $4,000 a tonne, which precipitated a rash of artisanal work throughout the region.Darby hopes Uludere will "mitigate the downside" of the company, while helping rebuild trust with the market after a debt funding deal and South African coal project fell through."We are a re-invented company. We are doing what we have to," Darby told Proactive Investors."The catalyst for us will be when we cut the first cheque and actually start making some cash flow."What we are doing is quite amazing. We've got the Turkish project up and running for $150,000 for the first stage before assessing when and whether we go into full scale mining." After an initial six months of trial mining, Condor will then decide whether to press ahead with full-scale production.The costs for this phase are put at $600,000, although Condor's partner has said it is happy to take $400,000 in shares. "People want to see cash coming from the business. Once we start doing that our shareholders will be much more comfortable with this proposition," says Darby.Condor is "still negotiating" a deal that would see it earn into the Sabaleta project in Ecuador in return for funding a small-scale gold operation there.The concession covers 3,380 hectares along the alluvial plain of the Camumbi river ripe for a low-grade bulk mining project. It will be mined from surface to a depth of eight metres, so the development costs are expected to be modest. An instant money spinner will be the company's Chile iron ore tailings project. In April, Condor revealed a commercial scale trial at the Marianas property has surpassed previous results. The head grade of 17.88% iron (containing 11.68% magnetite ) was significantly higher than the earlier 40 tonne samples and produced a concentrate of almost 70%."That project once it is up and running will produce 30,000 tonnes a month at a cost of $25 a tonnes - say $35 once processed," says Darby.So, this small-scale operation would be supremely economic even at the current iron ore price.However, there's a 'but' here. "We are at loggerheads with the other owners," Darby reveals, meaning Marianas is currently on hold.Condor is also still sitting on what the company described as "exceptional" early stage assets in Chile. They are epithermal and porphyry gold exploration opportunities in the world-class Maricunga Belt, host to a number multi- million ounce gold deposits. Its Carachapampa, La Isla and Yaretas properties anchor the tenement package.On Monday it said it will sink two diamond drill holes into its highly prospective Carachapampa project in Northern Chile. It will do so hoping to tap into the same mineralised system uncovered by Kingsgate Consolidated on the neighbouring Nueva Esperanza project.Just two kilometres from Carachapampa, Nueva Esperanza is host to 78.5mln ounces of silver and 250,000 ounces of gold.Last week Kingsgate's latest drill programme returned what the company described as "spectacular" gold and silver assay results.They included a 170 metre section grading 2.79 grams per tonne of gold and 82 grams of silver from 58 metres below the surface.Condor Blanco will be hoping its early work can replicate those sorts of results. Longer term, it is looking to bring in joint-venture partners for its exploration tenements.For now the main focus is firmly on developing early production and cash flow."The model we want to move towards completely mitigates the risk in a company that has very low overheads with the ability to generate cash," explains Darby."We could have many of these joint ventures as we are still negotiating a number more. "The amount of time, money and cost to enter into these JVs is minimal. "I think it is smart approach and one we hope the market will pick up on. "In fact investors are willing to reward any small scale production. It is a model that is gaining some traction."