(Alliance News) - Greatland Gold PLC on Monday said it has signed two joint venture agreements with Newcrest Operations Ltd to secure funding for early works and expanded exploration activities at gold-copper deposit Havieron in the Paterson region of Western Australia.
The UK-based precious and base metals exploration company has entered into a new series of JV agreements with Australian Newcrest Mining Ltd's gold-copper mining subsidiary. This includes a fully formed JV agreement for the Havieron project, a new JV agreement for the Black Hills and Paterson Range East licences, known as the Juri JV, and a loan agreement for Havieron, which provides a loan facility of USD50 million from Newcrest.
Last year, Greatland Gold signed a four stage farm-in agreement with Newcrest to explore and develop the Havieron gold-copper deposit. The company said it has seen "excellent" drilling results from the area since then, and sees "real potential to further expand the deposit".
Greatland Gold added that the Havieron project is progressing faster than was anticipated, with early works expected to start in later this year or early 2021, subject to required approvals.
Chief Executive Gervaise Heddle said: "The Havieron Joint Venture Agreement formalises our relationship with Newcrest beyond the existing farm-in, and with this agreement in place, we expect to progress rapidly towards the potential establishment of mining operations over the next two to three years."
Shares in Greatland Gold were up 5.4% at 26.10 pence in London on Monday, while Newcrest's shares closed 0.6% lower at AUD26.93 in Sydney.
By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com
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Greatland Gold (GGP)