RTG Mining has signed a deal topotentially acquire a majority stake in Papua New Guinea’s controversial MtKare gold project.
Lorna Nicholas | Small Caps | December 10, 2019
RTGMining has inked adeal in the hopes of acquiring an 80% stake in the historic 2.1 million-ounceMt Kare gold deposit in Papua New Guinea.
Thejunior explorer today announced it has signed a memorandum of understandingwith Canada’s GMG Global Mining Group and Tribune Mt Kare, the two priorityapplicants for the project.
Underthe deal, RTG will acquire the majority interest if and when the applicationsare converted into a new exploration licence.
RTGsaid the terms of the agreement equate to a purchase price of about US$8.80 perounce of gold in total historical mineral resource.
Thetotal resource estimate currently stands at 2.1Moz, including 1.2Moz ofmeasured gold resources and 900,000oz of indicated and inferred resources,valuing the deal at about US$18.48 million (A$27.06 million).
Anadditional payment of US$2.40 per ounce of gold in historical mineral resourceis payable upon a decision to mine.
Mt Kare project
MtKare is located about 600km northwest of Port Moresby in PNG’s Enga Province.It lies 15km southwest of Barrick Gold’s Porgera gold mine, the country’ssecond largest mine and considered to be one of the world’s top 10 producinggold mines.
Goldwas first discovered at Mt Kare in the 1980s and it is estimated that more thanA$60 million has been spent on the area by several companies, including 454diamond drill holes totalling almost 74,000m.
DelistedASX company Indochine Mining had acquired the project in 2011 and announced the2.1Moz historical mineral resource estimate in 2013. However, the company wasplaced into voluntary administration in 2015 and the exploration licence, whichexpired in 2014, was not renewed.
In2017, the PNG Mineral Resource Authority confirmed GMG had priority over theexploration licence application, but this was challenged by Tribune in thecourts. The two parties ended up settling their disputes and agreeing to worktogether.
RTGsaid it would focus exploration on the depth potential of the deposit, with MtKare being situated on the same north-east trending structure as the Porgeramine with similar geology including the same host rocks, mineralisation typesand age, and similar geological structures.
Thearea recently came into the spotlight in July when French news agency AFPreported on an alleged link between the control of Mt Kare and a PNG tribalmassacre. However, this connection appeared unclear and Indochine reportedlytold media it was no more than “speculation”.
Other gold projects
RTGalso has a proposal with a landowner lead consortium to secure an explorationlicence at the high-tonnage Panguna copper-gold project on PNG’s island ofBougainville.
Thecompany’s other projects include a 40% stake in the Mabilocopper-gold-magnetite project in the Philippines and during the Septemberquarter, RTG entered into a sale and purchase agreement with White Cliff Minerals to acquire its 90% stake in theChanach gold-copper project in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Well people; it looks like the only ones to come out with anything is Steve Promitz and the board IMHO.
He is now at LKE, you may want to invest in that?
