Photo by: Reuters
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed North River Resources on Wednesday announced that it had entered into a drill-for-equity agreement with the owner of the drilling and mining contractor, Shali Mining, operating at the company's flagship Namib lead/zinc project, in Namibia.
Under the terms of this agreement, which also established an important local partnership for the company, Shali Mining owner Wilhelm Shali would be paid in North River shares, as opposed to cash.
The agreement had initially been established to cover the first £170 000 worth of invoicing, with shares to be issued at an equivalent of 0.6p each for the works invoiced.
“We have been working with Shali Mining for four months now at Namib and the decision to invest sends a strong signal to the market on the project's potential,” North River MD Martin French commented.
North River was drilling on double shift in the historic underground mine to quickly expand its underground resources, which currently stood at 917 000 t at 2.4% lead, 5.7% zinc and 44.8 g/t silver.
Apart from this programme work, North River was also about to start driving a 300 m exploration tunnel to create new drill pad positions under the mine’s Northern lodes.
"Being involved as a contractor in the reopening of the mine made me realise the potential of this venture and I would like to put my weight behind this project and ensure that the mine becomes fully operational as soon as possible," Shali commented.