Great Western Mining Corp PLC on Tuesday announced a partnership with a Nevada landowner, aimed at unlocking the copper potential of its Huntoon Valley claims.
Shares in the Nevada-focused gold, silver and copper explorer were down 12% at 0.058 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
This came after Great Western announced the renewal of an 2016 agreement with Crowne Point Gold & Silver LLC for joint exploration of Huntoon Valley along Nevada’s southern California border.
Under the expired 2016 agreement, the pair drilled a single hole at Huntoon, which intercepted copper and gold deposits. The company said that it has reopened the agreement to ‘build on Great Western’s recent progress in establishing the copper potential of its West Huntoon claims’.
In November, the company reported ‘clear evidence’ of a previously unidentified copper pophyry system in the Huntoon Valley area, and noted indications of similar systems in the region.
The company holds 126 full and 12 fractional claims in the valley, which together form part of its larger Hunton copper project area. Crowne Point owns patented land, surrounded by Great Western’s claims, which the company said are equivalent to six standard claims. Crowne Point’s land includes the abandoned Huntoon gold mine as well as ‘a comprehensive network of access roads’.
Under Tuesday’s agreement, Great Western will gain access to the land, enabling it to drill without the need for regulatory approval. In exchange, the company will assign a 50% interest in nine of its unpatented claims to Crowne Point.
The company said that initial drilling will focus on ‘proving up’ the copper porphyry potential in the West Huntoon area.
Under the agreement, each firm will plan and finance its own exploration activity unless a decision is made for joint exploration. Copper and other base metals discovered by Great Western on the Crowne Point claims will be owned in equal shares. Gold or precious metals discovered by Crowne Point on these six claims will be shared 70:30 between Crowne Point and Great Western.
Minerals discovered by Great Western on its own claims from angled drilling from the Crowne Point claims will belong exclusively to Great Western, unless drilling targets shared claims.
Commenting on the joint venture, Great Western Chair Brian Hall said: ‘We have successfully cooperated with Crowne Pointe in the past and are very pleased to have entered into this new cooperation arrangement with them. The flexibility to carry out initial drilling on private land, which will circumvent a potentially lengthy permitting process, will enable us to fast-track our work in defining what we consider may be a significant new copper porphyry in the Walker Lane trend of Nevada. We are actively seeking a joint venture partner to help finance this programme and currently working on several positive leads.’
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