TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian exploration firm Laurentian Goldfields will team up with mid-tier bullion miner Kinross Gold, to explore for gold in parts of Ontario and Manitoba, the firm announced on Thursday.

Laurentian, which has a similar arrangement with Johannesburg-based AngloGold Ashanti, has entered into a letter of intent with Kinross to conduct a C$500 000 generative exploration program in the Uchi geological subprovince of Ontario and Manitoba (over a period of one year.

The Uchi alliance will target theRed Lake, Rice Lake, and Pickle Lake greenstone belts.

"This is another significant milestone in Laurentian's strategy of allying itself with top-tier gold producers in the search for world-class gold deposits in Canada," said CEO Andrew Brown.

Kinross will invest C$400 000 and Laurentian put in C$100,000,, to fund one year of early-stage exploration to identify new gold targets.

The term of the alliance may be extended upon mutual agreement, and Kinross may elect to form a joint venture with Laurentian on a 50:50 basis in any of the projects identified and acquired as a result of the Uchi alliance.

Kinross can also increase its interest to 75% on each joint venture property by solely funding C$1,5-million of future exploration expenditures over a two year period from the date the joint venture is formed.

Laurentian announced last month it had formed a three-year alliance with AngloGold to explore selected areas of Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan, with the objective of identifying new grassroots gold exploration projects.

The deal included a subscription by AngloGold to a $400 000 private placement in Laurentian.

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