Investigator Resources (ASX:IVR) has entered into an earn-in heads of agreement with privately held Alliance Resources over the Black Hill tenement, located adjacent to the Paris Silver Project in South Australia.
Black Hill has historical silver drill intercepts at the Sunday Iron prospect, located 11km along trend from Paris and 6km from the Manto silver deposit. In 2013, drilling intersections at Sunday Iron returned 5m @ 493 grams per tonne silver from 71m, including 1m @ 950g/t silver from 72m.
Under the three staged earn-in, Investigator will pay $500,000 on in-ground expenditure over two years before entering the second stage.
As part of stage two, the company will spend a further $500,000 on expenditure to earn a 49% interest in the project and will form a joint venture on a 49:51 basis.
Investigator, which has a market capitalisation of $39.72 million, will issue $500,000 worth of shares at a 15-day volume weighted average price to Alliance.
Upon completion, Investigator will enter the third stage, in which it will sole fund all expenditure and development until the joint venture is awarded a mining or retention lease.
Once the lease is granted, the company will earn an 80% interest in the project. Alliance will then have the right to sell its stake in the joint venture at a value determined by an independent valuer mutually selected by both companies.
Investigator acting Managing Director Andrew Shearer says the company believes the Black Hill area remains under-explored and offers potential.
“The deal with Alliance offers a simple mechanism for Investigator to evaluate the potential for silver-lead-zinc mineralisation of scale that would directly add value to the Paris Project, whilst preserving Alliance’s interest in other minerals,” Shearer says.
“It further allows for a defined earn-in to joint venture pathway should the potential that exists for substantial silver mineralisation be realised.”
The Paris Silver Project, located on the central Eyre Peninsula, has a resource estimate of 24 million tonnes @ 73g/t silver and 0.41% lead for 57 million ounces of silver and 99,000 tonnes of lead.
Investigator Resources is a silver-focused explorer discovering and developing assets primarily on the Gawler Craton of South Australia.
Alliance is focused on developing its Weednanna gold and iron ore mining operation, north of Kimba in South Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Investigator Resources
