South African junior Thabex Exploration has acquired a 100% of Cresta Mining Company, a Ugandan company that owns ten exclusive prospecting licenses (EPLs) there, for a consideration of R425 000.

The deal is subject to JSE Securities Exchange and Reserve Bank approval.

Operating from its office in Enthebe, Cresta Mining Company Uganda (CMCU) has reportedly been exploring for diamonds, gold, and base minerals for the past two years in the area of 303,7 sq km covered by the EPLs.

CMCU has exploration equipment, maps, surveys, and office equipment readily available for use at its offices in Uganda.

The transaction will increase Thabex’s exploration projects five-fold enabling the company to expand its activities in Africa by prospecting in this highly prospective geological territory of Uganda.

The consideration price is to be settled by the issue of 850 000 new Thabex Exploration shares at 50 cents each.

With its exploration experience and country knowledge, the company said that Cresta is well-placed to take advantage of the renewed interest in the mineral potential of the region.

The current chairperson will remain on the board as a non-executive director, as well as present CEO and geolist Mike de Villiers.

Thabex Exploration CEO Marius Welthagen said, “Management required the experience of an exploration company to turn their projects to account and we will assist in adding value to take some of the EPLs to bankable feasibility stage, and subsequent proposed joint ventures where the possible sale of any of the projects will assist the operation’s cash flow and ability to conduct further exploration”.

“CMCU will immediately set out to negotiate with Australian and Canadian junior mining companies, on a project-by-project basis, to further explore and develop the EPLs,” explained Welthagen.

De Villiers maintained that CMCU will benefit from Thabex’s experience in exploring grassroots projects as well as its infrastructure.

Said Welthagen, “Uganda, excluding certain areas in the north, presents a stable country where we can apply our trade. Our entry into this market via CMCU is fortuitous as the cost of acquiring and applying for these EPLs would have been prohibitive.

Also, the work done to date, including samples taken and electromagnetic surveys to discover geophysical anomalies, has fast tracked development and lowered the risk for us in doing business there,” he concluded.

Effective on the issue of shares, the agreement was signed on January 29, 2004.