PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Juniors Rox Resources and Venus Metals have struck a deal that will consolidate the ownership of the Youanmi gold project, in Western Australia.

Under an agreement announced on Friday, Rox would acquire Venus’ gold interests in each of its Youanmi joint ventures (JVs), which includes 30% of OYG JV, 45% of Youanmi JV and Currans Find JV, and 50% of Venus Metals JV for a consideration of 110-million fully paid ordinary shares in Rox.

Venus will retain its non-gold interests in the Youanmi JV, Currans Find JV and Venus Metals JV, as well as its interests in its non-Youanmi gold assets.

The transaction will result in the consolidation of the gold rights held by Rox and Venus into a single ownership structure.

“Consolidating the gold interests under the Youanmi gold project under Rox’s ownership is a logical transaction that is expected to deliver compelling value for both sets of shareholders and we are enormously excited about the strong foundation this transaction creates for the project’s ongoing exploration and development,” said Rox MD Rob Ryan.

“The transaction provides investors and financiers with a clearer ownership structure and access to the full value of the Youanmi gold project.

“Building on our existing high-grade resource base and our recent exploration success at Midway and Youanmi South, this simplified ownership structure will enable Rox and Venus shareholders to share in the future growth of Rox as we work to unlock the full potential of the Youanmi gold project,” Ryan added.

“2023 is set to be a milestone year at Youanmi, with drilling underway to convert existing inferred resources to indicated status to support the prefeasibility studies. We are also very excited to see ongoing results from the Midway and Youanmi South discoveries, which are potential game-changers for the Youanmi gold project.”

Venus MD Matthew Hogan told shareholders that this was a win-win transaction for shareholders, which unlocked considerable value and dramatically simplified the development pathway of the Youanmi gold project.

“I’m extremely confident in the capabilities of the Rox board and management team, and very excited to be joining forces with them with the aim of bringing the Youanmi gold mine back into production in the near future.”

The transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including due diligence from both sides, shareholder and Ministerial approvals, and Rox forgiving a loan carry to Venus under the terms of the OYG JV.