Photo by: Reuters
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed mineral exploration company Alecto Minerals has received assurances from gold miner Centamin that it would continue to fulfill the $1.8-million initial expenditure commitment for the parties’ joint venture (JV) Wayu Boda exploration project, in Ethiopia.
LSE- and TSX-listed Centamin had agreed to provide the funds over a two-year period to maintain an initial 51% stake in the project.
“The fact that Centamin would like to continue fulfilling the initial expenditure commitment for the Wayu Boda project is excellent news and, considering that the results and analysis from their recent exploration programme are yet to be received and assessed in full, we are encouraged by their decision,” Alecto CEO Mark Jones said in a statement.
The parties’ JV agreement also extended to the 1 954 km2 Aysid-Metekel project, also in Ethiopia, where Centamin has agreed to spend $1.2-million for an initial 51% stake.
Centamin also had an option to fund up to a further $5-million of work at the Aysid-Metekel project and $6-million of work at the Wayu Boda project to increase its interest in each of the projects up to 70%.