LONDON (Alliance News) - Arian Silver Corp on Wednesday said it is progressing to the next stage with Tierra Nuevo Mining Ltd's Noche Buena gold and silver tailings project in northern Zacatecas State of Mexico.
In a statement, Arian Silver said it secured the exclusive right to evaluate the tailings project for a further 120 days for USD25,000, which will enable further metallurgical test work to be undertaken to define the process required to produce a saleable gold and silver concentrate.
"This is a significant step towards acquiring a low-cost production asset in which we see significant potential for gold and silver to be extracted in the near-term through a simple and inexpensive process, as compared with traditional hard-rock mining ventures," Chief Executive Officer Jim Williams said in a statement.
The move comes after Arian last week unveiled a placing to raise GBP700,000 by placing 70 million units at 1.00 pence each with investors. Each unit consisted of one new share and half of a new share warrant entitling the holder to subscribe for one new share at 1.5p. Shares in Arian were down 11% at 1.00p Wednesday.
Williams said the placing means Arian is "ideally placed" to complete the necessary studies to determine a cost effective, saleable gold and silver product from the tailings project.
Progressing to the next stage follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Tierra Nuevo Mining in February to evaluate its portfolio of mineral properties.
That had given Arian the right to conduct due diligence on Tierra Nuevo Mining's portfolio of interest for 90 days. The memorandum did not require Arian to pay fees or grant exclusivity.
Arian said it is exploring the potential of several mineral properties in Mexico, including other mineral properties owned by Tierra Nuevo Mining.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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