LONDON (Alliance News) - Rose Petroleum PLC Tuesday said its subsidiary AVEN Associates LLC has entered a joint venture with Lowell Copper Ltd (LCL) in connection with AVEN's TC Porphyry Copper Project in the US.
The AIM-listed natural resources company said that as part of the deal LCL will send USD250,000 to fund initial exploration at the site in return for a 25% stake of the four-year joint venture.
The company said LCL will have an option to increase its interest to 52% by funding an additional USD2.5 million, after which point it will have the option increase to 70% by investing a further USD3.5 million. LCL's total investment at that point would be USD6.3 million.
Rose said that should LCL decide not to increase its investment past 51%, LCL and AVEN would fund the programme according to their percentage interests or be diluted.
The TC Project is located in New Mexico along a porphyry copper belt where sampling by AVEN of altered and mineralised rock has returned assay values up to 3,896 parts per million of copper, 84 parts per million of molybdenum, 4,876 parts per million of lead, 1,997 parts per million of zinc, 24 grams per tonne of gold, and 204 grams per tonne of silver.
Rose said that permitting for a drilling programme at the site is currently underway with drilling planned to start in the second or third quarter of this year.
Rose Petroleum shares were up 8.0% to 0.54 pence Tuesday.
By Tom McIvor; tommcivor@alliancenews.com; @TomMcIvor1
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