Last checked at 2 Feb 2015 07:00
Stratex International Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: STI / Sector: Mining
Stratex International Plc
('Stratex' or 'the Company')
Transfer of Karaağac Licence, Turkey
Stratex International Plc, the AIM-quoted exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update on its Karaağac gold project ('Karaağac' or the 'Project'), following the signing of an agreement (the 'Agreement') with Anadolu Export Maden Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi ('Anadolu').
Highlights:
- Anadolu to spend up to US$1.5 million on exploration and drilling at the Project within two years ('the Exploration Period');
- Anadolu to pay Stratex US$500,000 cash if minimum JORC-compliant indicated resource of 50,000 oz gold is confirmed at the Project within the Exploration Period, plus a 1.5% net smelter returns royalty on any future mineral production;
- Transfer of the Karaağac Exclusive Exploration Licence ('EEL') to Anadolu awaiting approval;
- Stratex to manage the exploration and drilling programmes.
Bob Foster, Stratex Chief Executive, said, "We are delighted to have signed this agreement with the operating subsidiary of a major Turkish company. Karaağac is not a core project for Stratex, and has been on hold for several years, but we have always felt that it has potential for upgrading the resource. This agreement allows us to share in that upside potential should it be realised and the eventual royalty flow would augment our anticipated cash flow from Altintepe and from the Öksüt project where we will benefit from a 1% NSR royalty when it is put into production by Centerra Gold."
Further details:
Stratex Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi ('Stratex Madencilik'), the Company's wholly-owned Turkish subsidiary, has signed the Agreement with Anadolou for the exploration of the Project. Anadolu is 96%-owned by Istanbul-listed ODAŞ Elektrik.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Anadolou will budget up to US$1.5 million for exploration and drilling of the Karaağac project within a maximum period of two years (the 'Exploration Period'). An application has been made to the General Directorate of Mining Affairs in Turkey for the transfer of the Karaağac EEL from Stratex Madencilik to Anadolu and a further announcement will be made once the process is complete.
If a minimum JORC-compliant indicated resource of 50,000 oz gold (with a 0.2 g/t Au threshold limit) is confirmed within that period, Anadolu will pay the sum of US$500,000 in cash to Stratex Madencilik and subsequently will pay a 1.5% net smelter returns royalty to Stratex Madencilik on any future mineral production. If, after defining the minimum resource, Anadolu decide not to proceed to the operation phase before the end of the Exploration Period, the Licence will revert to Stratex Madencilik. Stratex Madencilik will manage the exploration and drilling programmes.
Mineralisation at the Project is hosted by a partially outcropping thrust zone and altered limestone. The Company has previously defined an in-house non-JORC compliant inferred resource of 6,389,011 tonnes grading 0.78 g/t Au for a total of 156,798 oz Au (announcement dated 24th May 2007). The Project is valued at around £53,000 in the Company's latest financial statements.
For more information on Karaağac, please click the following link http://www.stratexinternational.com/project/karaagac.
* * ENDS * *
For further information please visit www.stratexinternational.com, email info@stratexplc.com, or contact:
Stratex International Plc | Tel: +44 (0)20 7830 9650 |
| |||||
Bob Foster / Christopher Hall / Claire Bay
|
| ||||||
Grant Thornton UK LLP | Tel: +44 (0)20 7383 5100 |
| |||||
Philip Secrett / Melanie Frean / Jen Clarke
|
| ||||||
Northland Capital Partners Limited | Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 1100 |
| |||||
Gerry Beaney / David Hignall/ Alice Lane /John Howes
|
| ||||||
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
| |||||
Ewan Leggat / Tercel Moore
|
| ||||||
Yellow Jersey PR Limited | Tel: +44 (0)20 3664 4087 |
| |||||
Dominic Barretto / Philip Ranger / Anna Legge |
| ||||||
Notes to Editors:
Focused on the exploration and development of gold and high-value base metals, Stratex International is active in Turkey and Senegal and has strategic interests in East Africa and Ghana. Since listing on AIM in 2006, Stratex has had an impressive track record of successful exploration supported by joint-venture partnerships, both with major international mining companies and local companies to maximise the potential of its discoveries.
To date Stratex has discovered more than 2.2 million ounces of gold and 7.9 million ounces of silver, as well as 186,000 tonnes of copper. The Company is looking to completion of construction of its 45%-owned Altintepe gold project in Turkey in Q1-2015 and anticipates gold production soon thereafter. Additionally a 1% production royalty capped at US$20 million will be due from the Öksüt project, also in Turkey, with first production provisionally targeted for late-2016 by owners Centerra Gold. With its current cash position and projected cash returns, the Company is well-placed to advance its existing exploration programmes and is also actively seeking to acquire advanced projects that are at the drill-ready stage or even have identified resources.