Metalnewsnet 5 May:

Trafigura Beheer BV will pay $5 million for all the zinc concentrate produced at Vena Resources Inc.'s Azulcocha zinc project in Peru and a 30-percent stake in the mine.

The investment will finance an initial 1,000-tonne-per-day mining operation, Vena said. The trading house will pay international market terms agreed each year for the zinc concentrate, according to the transaction.

"We believe that together with Trafigura we can substantially increase the amount of known resources/reserves in a short (time)," Juan Vegarra, Vena's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement, noting that of the 3.2 million tonnes of historical resources, less than 1 million tonnes have been confirmed at the Azulcocha Mine to date.

Glencore International AG subsidiary Empresa Los Quenuales is a joint-venture drilling partner with