Vancouver — An exploration agreement between units of
The companies are joining forces to explore 114.5 sq. km at the southern end of Ivanhoe’s 1,450-sq.-km Cloncurry project. This represents about 8% of Ivanhoe’s licence area.
Placer is looking for new copper-gold deposits suitable for processing at its wholly owned Osborne mine, 25 km from Ivanhoe’s Cloncurry project. Gold grades have been declining at Osborne, along with resources, which host 206,000 oz. gold and 340 million lbs. copper. The underground mine should produce 80 million lbs. copper this year at cash and total costs of US$0.91 and US$1.04 per lb., respectively, plus 46,000 oz. gold.
The agreement with Ivanhoe gives Placer the right to earn a 50% joint-venture interest in any new discovery in the project area by spending A$2 million on exploration before Oct. 31, 2005. About A$700,000 has been spent to date.
If Placer finds a gold or copper-gold deposit exceeding 10 million tonnes, each company will have an equal participating interest in the new deposit. If a smaller resource suitable for processing at the Osborne mill is found, Placer can boost its interest to 85% by spending another A$3 million on exploration before Oct. 31, 2007. Ivanhoe would then have a 15% carried interest in the deposit until the start of commercial production.
On its own, Ivanhoe will continue to explore other portions of the Cloncurry project, including a new discovery at the Swan project, 25 km north of the area being explored by Placer. The new deposit of “potentially significant” iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineralization was found near the former Mt. Elliott mine, which is in the Cloncurry project area.
Ivanhoe’s main target of interest is large, high-grade IOCG deposits similar to the nearby Ernest Henry mine or to the Olympic Dam mine in southern Australia.
The company notes that the Northwest Queensland mineral belt hosts some of the world’s most significant mineral deposits. The list includes the Century, Mount Isa, Hilton Group, Cannington, Lady Loretta and Dugald River base metal deposits, the Ernest Henry and Osborne IOCG mines, the Tick Hill gold deposit, the Mary Kathleen rare-earth and the Valhalla uranium deposits.
Be the first to comment on "Placer Dome, Ivanhoe join forces at Cloncurry"