Argent Minerals expands Lachlan Belt exposure after MinRex Resources exercises Sunny Corner option
MinRex has exercised farm-in rights to earn up to 90% of the NSW precious and base metals project.
Diversified explorer MinRex Resources (ASX: MRR) has exercised its option with polymetallic play Argent Minerals (ASX: ARD) to acquire the latter’s farm-in rights to earn up to 90% of the Sunny Corner precious and base metals project in prime gold-copper territory.
In return, Argent will receive a packet of new shares in MinRex, which is currently capitalised at about $10 million.
Last year Argent had acquired the farm-in rights which are now being on-sold to MinRex, with the latter company now negotiating its own agreement with the private company that owns Sunny Corner.
Sunny Corner has potential for gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and molybdenum discoveries.
This leaves Argent to focus on its silver dominated Kempfield polymetallic project, also located on the Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales.
Last October, when MinRex obtained its option, Argent managing director and chief executive officer George Karageorge described it as “great” for his company and its shareholders.
“The option agreement gives Argent the potential to have exposure to a much larger portfolio of Lachlan Fold Belt projects and will hopefully lead to a major discovery at Sunny Corner,” he said at the time.
Numerous historic mines over project area
From 1877, Sunny Corner was the location of Australia’s first direct shipping ore operation with silver ore sent to London.
It also hosted several historic mines producing gold, silver and copper, including the Nevada copper mine (silver-lead-copper), and the gold operations Big Hill and Bobs Creek.
The Mitchells Creek alluvial workings produced about 12,000 ounces of gold while the Paddy Lacky mine was worked between 1885 and 1906 for 11,740oz.
Sunny Corner was last explored in 2005 by Golden Cross Resources (ASX: GCR), which drilled 36 reverse circulation holes with an average depth of just 60m.
MinRex will pay Argent the $100,000 option exercise fee in the form of 5 million new shares, plus it will make a staged issue of a total of 80 million of new shares in three tranches as the acquisition progresses with the property owners.
During the option period, MinRex did its own evaluation of Sunny Corner and began talks with the project owner.
Meanwhile, Argent’s Kempfield polymetallic project has a mineral resource of 21.8 million tonnes and 52 million ounces of silver equivalent contained metal.
Argent drilling has intersected combined lead-zinc grades of up to 17.9% immediately to the west of the existing mineral resource, and numerous high-grade gold intervals.