Copper exploration and mining company Sandfire Resources will hand back the 80% exploration interest in the Bryah Basin exploration permits, in Western Australia, ASX-listed Alchemy Resources said on Monday.
In January 2014, IGO agreed to farm into the Bryah Basin exploration permits held by Alchemy. IGO remained the operator of the permits until 2018, when Sandfire elected to acquire the farm-in rights.
Historical spending includes A$3.9-million by IGO and a further A$14.5-million by Sandfire since the commencement of the original joint venture (JV).
“The original farm-in agreement with Independence Group, and more recently Sandfire, provided the funding and impetus for a long-term exploration programme in the Bryah for over a decade. Alchemy thanks IGO and Sandfire for their commitment to exploration in the region over the period,” said CEO James Wilson.
Alchemy will now ultimately control a dominant 100%-owned land package in a region renowned for world-class discoveries such as DeGrussa, along with a multimillion-dollar exploration database with over 338 000 m of drilling and surface geochemistry and geophysics information.