Gold hopeful Native Mineral Resources (NMR) has struck a deal to acquire a package of Queensland projects that may soon see the company take on the title of producer.
NMR is set to acquire the assets, which include the Far Fanning and Black Jack gold projects, from Collins St for an initial payment of $3 million.
In order to pay for the deposits and their subsequent exploration, NMR is launching an entitlement offer to shareholders in the coming weeks.
NMR expects to raise up to $14 million, a portion of which will be used for exploration at the deposits it already owns, which include Palmerville and Maneater.
Once the deal is complete, NMR plans to advance exploration and undertake resource definition and infill drilling at Far Fanning to increase resource confidence, followed by an updated mineral resource estimate and feasibility studies.
NMR managing director Blake Cannavo said these efforts could fast-track the company’s transition from explorer to gold producer.
“This acquisition is a transformative milestone for NMR,” Cannavo said.
“By securing two near-mine, advanced gold projects with robust resource potential, we are positioning ourselves to move rapidly towards production.
“This deal propels us from a junior explorer to a potential gold producer in under two years, significantly enhancing value for our shareholders.”
Far Fanning has five granted mining leases with a main historical mining pit that is only 30m deep and was last operated in 2005. It also had a small underground mining operation in the early 2000s.
A mineral resource estimate completed in 2021 updated the inferred resource to 2.3 million tonnes of ore at 1.84 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold for 138,000 ounces.
A 2019 scoping study pit optimisation demonstrated potential for a pit expansion to 115m depth.
Black Jack is part of the Charters Towers project, and covers three shallow oxide pits that sit above the historic Black Jack and John Bull underground workings that were worked intermittently from 1875 to 1889.
Currently, Black Jack has 12 mining licences already granted and has previously yielded a whopping 60g/t of gold.
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