JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Goldplat has signed a nonbinding letter of intent (LoI) with TSX-V-listed company Gulf Shore Resources (GSR), giving GSR the option to earn a stake in Goldplat's 90%-owned Anumso project, in Ghana, in exchange for $3-million.

Goldplat had a ten-year renewable mining lease for gold and associated minerals at the 29 km² Anumso project, which was located in the Amansie East and Asante Akim South districts of the Ashanti region. The project had a Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant resource of 166 865 oz of gold at 2.04 g/t.

“The Anumso project is highly prospective and offers significant development opportunity, to which Goldplat wishes to maintain exposure,” stated Goldplat CEO Gerard Kisbey-Green.

While the current resource size and economics made raising capital to develop a mine on the project difficult in the short term, the proposed earn-in arrangement with GSR allowed for Anumso to be developed with the appropriate initial focus on increasing the size and quality of the resource, without the need for Goldplat to expend capital or use extensive management time, Kisbey-Green added.

“Accordingly, we can realise value in the project and retain upside, while focusing attention on our stated strategy to develop our Ghanaian recovery operations into a West African hub and a base off of which to continue business from elsewhere in Africa and to develop a South American business," he said in a company announcement on Thursday.

The LoI was intended to progress to a legally binding option agreement within 30 days, following a normal due diligence period and was subject to receipt of approval by the boards of directors of both companies, the TSX-V and regulatory approvals in Ghana related to the licence.

However, under the terms of the LoI, GSR would have the sole right, after 14 days, to elect to have the terms of the LoI made binding on the parties. In this event, the LoI should become a binding agreement between GSR and Goldplat.

The intention of the LoI was to provide GSR with the option to earn 75% of Goldplat's interest, or 67.5% of the overall project interest, in Anumso by expending an aggregate of $3-million on exploration at the project over 2.5 years. 

The LoI provided for two option periods. In the first, GSR would be given the opportunity to earn a 51% interest in the project by expending $1.5-million on exploration over 18 months. In the second, an additional 24% interest could be earned by expending a further/additional $1.5-million on exploration on the project over the following 12 months. 

GSR would be the operator of the exploration and development programme during the option periods, while the licences would remain in Goldplat's name.

Upon completion of the earn-in, GSR and Goldplat would form a joint venture to contribute proportionally to the project's development, or have its interest diluted.

If either party’s interest was diluted to 10%, this interest would be converted into a 1.5% net smelter return, which could be bought out by the other party for $100 000 per 0.1%, for an aggregate of $1.5-million.

GSR noted that, following the negotiation and execution of a formal option agreement, the company would commission a National Instrument 43-101-compliant technical report on the project and make application for TSX-V approval.

GSR planned to raise sufficient funds by way of a nonbrokered private placement to be able to undertake the initial $1.5-million of expenditures.