Carawine Resources signs joint venture deal with Fortescue Metals Group for Paterson tenements
Carawine estimates $11.5 million will be spend on exploring its Paterson project under today’s Fortescue deal and its recent Rio Tinto farm-in agreement.
Hot on the heels of farm-in deal with Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) last month, Carawine Resources (ASX: CWX) has now inked a $6 million joint venture with Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG).
The deal allows Fortescue to earn a 75% interest in Carawine’s Lamil Hills, Trotman South and Sunday tenements over two stages.
Under the deal, Fortescue will pay $125,000 in cash and spend $500,000 on exploration over the first 18 months.
To lock-in a 51% stake in the tenements, Fortescue must spend $1.5 million on exploring the tenements over three years – inclusive of the $500,000.
In the second earn-in stage, Fortescue will spend a further $4.5 million on exploration within a further four years – giving it 75% ownership.
Combined with the recent farm-in agreement with Rio, Carawine noted that $11.5 million will be spend on exploring the Paterson project under both agreements.
“With the addition of Fortescue as a partner in the Paterson we now have two major resource companies funding exploration on our Paterson tenements,” Carawine managing director David Boyd said.
He pointed out the latest deal with Fortescue ensures Carawine is “well-positioned to benefit from any discoveries” with Fortescue in a position to underpin development if exploration is successful.
“The agreement with Fortescue represents a further endorsement of Carawine’s exploration targeting strategy which has led to the formation of active joint ventures with Rio in the Paterson Province and with Independence Group in the Fraser Range region of WA,” Mr Boyd added.
Paterson project
Carawine recently won four ballots for competing tenement applications which has expanded the company’s Paterson project from 230 square kilometres to 1,458sq km.
To-date, Carawine has carried out a major physical program across its granted Paterson tenements and has firmed-up a number of targets believed prospective for copper-gold mineralisation.
Rio is actively looking to add to its Winu copper discovery in the region, with a copper shortfall predicted to arise in the coming years.
Meanwhile, with Rio and Fortescue both advancing its Paterson tenements, Carawine is focused on exploring tis Jamieson project in Victoria.