PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper/gold miner Oz Minerals has inked an earn-in agreement with TSX-V-listed Avrupa Minerals over its Alvito copper/gold project, in Portugal.
Under the agreement, Oz Minerals can earn a 51% interest in the project through a minimum spend of A$1-million on exploration in the first year of the earn-in. An additional 24% interest can be won by spending a further A$3-million on exploration by September 2019.
“Portugal is part of a growing exploration pipeline. Our international exploration approach is unchanged from Australia, working with good partners, being prepared to look afresh at prospective projects, and making decisions to stay or exit early based on the future value we see in a project,” said Oz Minerals CEO Andrew Cole.
Cole said that historical exploration in the Alvito region had been hampered by regional magnetite alteration and by a thin layer of transported cover at surface.
Oz Minerals is aiming to leverage its experience of exploring beneath cover to develop a range of drill targets at Alvito, and based on initial assessments, those targets are very close to surface, allowing for potential openpit mining.
The company will start an exploration programme in the next quarter, with drilling to be managed by Avrupa’s geological team in Portugal.