PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian junior Chalice Gold has withdrawn from a regional exploration joint venture (JV) with US gold-miner Newmont Mining in Eritrea, opting to explore on its own.
Chalice said in a statement on Monday that the proposed JV, which was established to explore and evaluate regional gold opportunities, had remained subject to formal documentation, which had not been completed.
The company has A$16-million cash on hand following a fully underwritten rights issue, and has, therefore, decided to explore the prospective tenement on its own, chairperson Tim Goyder explained.
Chalice announced the partnership with Newmont in July, and said at the time that it would benefit from the US major’s financial strength.
The area which was subject to the JV covered about 24 000 km2, and is currently subject to applications for grant from the Eritrean government.
Under the JV, Newmont would have spent an initial $1-million on a reconnaissance exploration programme, and in return would have retained a 75% interest.
Chalice is already developing the Koka Gold deposit, part of the Zara project in Eritrea.
Last week, MD Doug Jones indicated that Chalice could start construction at the openpit mine by the end of the year, pending the completion of a permitting process.
Demonym Eritrean Government Provisional government
- President Isaias Afewerki
Independence
- From Italy November 1941
- From United Kingdom under UN Mandate 1951
- from Ethiopia de facto 24 May 1991
- From Ethiopia de jure 24 May 1993
Area
- Total 117,600 km2 (100th)
45,405 sq mi - Water (%) 0.14%
Population
- 2009 estimate 5,224,000[4] (109th)
- 2008 census 5,291,370
- Density 43.1/km2 (165th)
111.7/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate
- Total $3.625 billion[5]
- Per capita $681[5]
GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
- Total $2.117 billion[5]
- Per capita $397[5]
HDI (2007) steady 0.472 (low) (165th)
Currency Nakfa (ERN)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
ISO 3166 code ER
Internet TLD .er
Calling code 291
1 ,. National TV: Eritrea Television (ERI-TV)
Eritrea (play /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;[6] Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million...
Source: Wikipedia
comment closed