The new partner will pay Stratex US$1.7 million and take a 51% stake in the project once due diligence is complete.

There is an option for this stake to increase to 61 per cent for a further US$500,000 and 3,000 metres of diamond drilling and to 70 per cent if the partner also funds a feasibility study.

Stratex cannot name its new partner until the final agreement is signed, but said it is a Turkish investment banking company.

Bob Foster, Stratex’s chief executive, added that the group is a well-funded private financial institution and investment company with a proven track record of raising substantial funds.

“It is actively focussing on using its technical and financial strengths to develop mining projects, with a particular focus on copper,” he said.

“It shares our belief that Muratdere now shows potential for successful economic development, which is enhanced by the presence of potentially valuable co-product metals, particularly gold and molybdenum,” he added.

The Muratdere property comprises two licences covering a substantial granodiorite-porphyry system located 250 km west of Ankara. 

In June, Stratex announced an initial inferred JORC-compliant resource of 51 million tonnes grading 0.36 per cent copper, 0.12 g/t gold, 2.40 g/t silver, 0.0125 per cent molybdenum, and 0.34 ppm rhenium.  

Metallurgical test work since undertaken by Wardell Armstrong has indicated that saleable copper concentrate grades could be produced from all but the unoxidised sulphide material. 

It is the second major partnership in Turkey Stratex has signed recently after the deal with Bahar Mining to develop the Altintepe gold project in northern Turkey.

The boss of Stratex International hailed this week’s development agreement with Turkish firm Bahar Mining for its Altintepe project as a massive step forward for the group.

Stratex (LON:STI) has signed a joint venture agreement to develop the Altintepe oxide-gold project in northern Turkey with private mining company Bahar. 

The deal will see Bahar pay for all of the costs, including capital expenditures, of bringing the 490,000 ounce project on stream.

The Turkish group will carry out an initial environmental impact study and technical and economic due diligence and if it decides to proceed Bahar will take a 55% stake in the project.

The minimum production target is 30,000 ounces of gold per year with Bahar receiving 80% of the cash generated until all of the start-up and development costs are paid off.

All pre-production technical studies, mine construction, and mine management will be undertaken by Bahar, which already manages gold mining operations in Turkey on a contract basis.  Mining will be undertaken by Bahar using its own mining fleet.

Bob Foster, Stratex’s chief executive said: "We are delighted to have secured Bahar as our new mining partner for Altintepe through an agreement that substantially reduces financial risk for the Company with a free carry to production, whilst allowing us to benefit from 45% of the future net cash flow after Bahar has recovered costs on accelerated payback basis.”

Bahar operatives are already on site and have commenced preliminary site investigations. The Turkish firm had the technical capabilities and in-house mining fleet to advance rapidly the development at Altintepe, he said.

Stratex also announced that it has appointed GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants (GBM) as the engineer to support development of Inlice gold project in south-western Turkey, though the Environmental Impact Study is now expected in January 2012 and this will result in a delay in commencing the permitting procedures and therefore the eventual construction of the mine.

GBM's task is to manage the development process through to production in conjunction with operating company Inlice Madencilik's mining team.  Stratex has a 45% stake in Inlice Madencilik with partner NTF owning the remainder. 

Stratex International (LON:STI) this morning said that the latest batch of drill results from the Ortaçam North area on the Öksüt project in Turkey were excellent.

The best results included one hole with 199.6 metres grading 2.06 grams per tonne gold, containing 60.3 metres at 4.7 grams per tonne of oxide gold. Another had 116 metres grading 1.10 grams per tonne.

This confirms Ortaçam North as a major zone of gold mineralisation, it said.

According to Stratex a 400 metre-wide near-vertical pipe-like vent hosts mineralisation over a probable area of at least 200 x 280 metres. It said that the continuity of the gold grades still need to be fully defined.

The mineralisation is open at depth and oxidation is estimated to extend to 400 metres vertically

"These exciting results, together with the previously reported exceptional downhole intersections of 234.40 metres at 2.08 g/t gold and 220.20 metres at 1.83 g/t gold, mostly in oxide material, now define the Ortaçam North Zone as a significant zone of gold mineralisation,” said chief executive Bob Foster.  

He added: “We are confident that this zone will significantly increase the previously reported project resource of 317,256 ounces of gold contained within the Ortaçam Zone. 

Stratex also said that the preliminary test work on Öksüt suggests that oxide material and lesser amounts of transition material will be amenable to recovery of gold by heap-leaching.

Drilling work continues so that Stratex can evaluate the full extent of the breccia pipe.

A new independent resource estimate is expected early next year. 

Additionally Stratex told investors that its joint venture partner Centerra has now spent US$3 million on the Öksüt project. That means it has now earned its 50 per cent stake in the project.

Centerra can increase its stake in the project again by spending more money on the project in the next 90 days. It can earn an additional 20 per cent by spending 3 million on exploration.

"We are delighted that Centerra, having accelerated its expenditure to earn to 50 per cent, is now moving rapidly to advance the project,” Foster added.

“An independent updated resource will be commissioned once the current phase of drilling has been completed towards the end of this year and we look forward to further defining the economic potential of this highly prospective high-sulphidation gold project."

Turkey and Ethiopia-focused explorer Stratex International (LON:STI) has acquired a 49.9 per cent holding in newly-formed potash firm Rift Resources. The move has come after ongoing exploration by Stratex in the Afar region of Ethiopia highlighted the prospectivity for the commodity there.

Subsequently, Stratex was awarded a licence to explore for potash, and associated minerals, and, in order to retain its focus on gold exploration, it agreed to assign the licence to Rift Resources. 

Stratex stressed that it will remain focused on mining for precious and base metals, but that the investment in Rift represents an opportunity. “Although Stratex’s focus remains solely on precious and base metal exploration, we have been opportunistic in acquiring a licence in Ethiopia that is prospective for potash, a commodity that is primarily used as a source of potassium fertiliser,” said chairman Christopher Hall. “This 500-square kilometre asset is being transferred to Rift Resources with Stratex acquiring 49.9 per cent of that company, post a fundraising. Stratex shareholders will gain significant equity exposure to this exciting opportunity without any risk, financial exposure or dilution at plc level as a result of funding non-core exploration.”

Stratex has been issued 19,999,999 shares in Rift. Meanwhile, Rift has sourced an investment of £250,000 to advance its initial licence and provide working capital for its development. Rift also plans to increase its exposure to potash and other industrial minerals in Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Stratex board members, consultants and employees have subscribed for a total of eight million shares in Rift.

Earlier this week, FTSE100 copper mining company Antofagasta announced it is buying a stake of almost three per cent in Stratex.

Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), the FTSE100 copper mining company, is buying a stake of almost three per cent in Stratex International (LON:STI) via a private placing.

Shares in Stratex were trading higher by 0.6 per cent at 7.8 pence each in mid-afternoon trading today. Broker Shore Capital commented: “Although a relatively small sum, we see this investment as an encouraging vote of confidence in Stratex by Antofagasta.”

Antofagasta has subscribed for more than 10.3 million shares for a cash consideration of 7.72 pence per share, which means it will hold an interest of approximately 2.97 per cent in Stratex.

The funds raised amount to £800,000 and Stratex will use them to accelerate its exploration activities in Turkey and Ethiopia, where it is focused on gold and high-value base metals.

“We are delighted that Antofagasta is strengthening its strategic involvement with Stratex through this placement,” said Bob Foster, Stratex’s chief executive. “Having already committed US$1 million via a joint venture to fund the first phase of an exploration programme to discover new copper deposits in Turkey, we believe that this additional investment further endorses our management and operations teams and business strategy.”

Foster added that Stratex’s exploration programme in Turkey was making progress under its Turkish management team and with support from senior Antofagasta geologists. “We share the belief that there is considerable potential for the discovery of one or more major new porphyry copper deposits in this underexplored part of the world and look forward to updating shareholders on any important developments as the exploration progresses,” he said.

Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), the FTSE100 copper mining company, is buying a stake of almost three per cent in Stratex International (LON:STI) via a private placing.

Antofagasta has subscribed for more than 10.3 million shares for a cash consideration of 7.72 pence per share, which means it will hold an interest of approximately 2.97 per cent in Stratex.

The funds raised amount to £800,000 and Stratex will use them to accelerate its exploration activities in Turkey and Ethiopia, where it is focused on gold and high-value base metals.

“We are delighted that Antofagasta is strengthening its strategic involvement with Stratex through this placement,” said Bob Foster, Stratex’s chief executive. “Having already committed US$1 million via a joint venture to fund the first phase of an exploration programme to discover new copper deposits in Turkey, we believe that this additional investment further endorses our management and operations teams and business strategy.”

Foster added that Stratex’s exploration programme in Turkey was making progress under its Turkish management team and with support from senior Antofagasta geologists. “We share the belief that there is considerable potential for the discovery of one or more major new porphyry copper deposits in this underexplored part of the world and look forward to updating shareholders on any important developments as the exploration progresses,” he said.

David Hall, the Stratex executive in charge of the East African portfolio, is pleased with the drill programme’s results. In today’s statement he said: "The 3,000 metre drilling programme has been successful, yielding significant results which confirm Megenta as a large new gold system in the emerging Afar epithermal gold region. 

Hall also explained that the main exploration target at Megenta has now been confirmed to be at at least 3 kilometres long and, based on the type of mineralisation encountered to date, believe that the gold deposit could potentially extend to a depth of 300 metres.

“As such, drilling of deeper holes will be planned in a follow-up programme to be approved by our JV partner Thani Ashanti to help define the true economic potential of this project,” Hall added.

“In addition we will begin exploration on our other exciting gold targets in the Afar region - Akehil, Boraule, and Det Bahari in Ethiopia and Asal and Dimoli Khan in Djibouti and look forward to updating the market on these developments in due course." 

On AIM, Stratex shares gained 0.125p, about 1.4 per cent, today to trade at 8.875p.

After yesterday’s news from Stratex International (LON:STI) that the firm had received “significant” results from drilling at its Megenta gold discovery in Ethiopia, broker FoxDavies said it was retaining its ‘buy’ recommendation for the shares as well as its target price of 12.5 pence.

“We regard the MG-DD-10 hole as possibly the best result so far from the Megenta drilling programme with nearly the longest intercepts at the highest grades. Best intercepts from the hole... include a 7.25 metre stretch grading at 0.79 grams per tonne gold and a five metre interval at 2.69 grams per tonne gold,” said FoxDavies, which noted that the hole is located on the western edge of the Hyena Zone that has yielded the most promising results. 

“Although the grades for the programme to date have not been as high as we would have hoped, they do prove that there is a significant amount of gold in the system and serve as further proof of the exploration concept,” added the broker.

FoxDavies also noted that Stratex’s current scout drilling programme is nearly complete and a decision on whether to plan further drilling will be made shortly. “We believe that the results are encouraging enough to warrant further drilling into the system, targeting the deeper silica alteration and brecciation which would indicate the ‘boiling zone; and which could prove to be the source of mineralisation,” it said.

On Thursday, shares in Stratex saw double-digit percentage gains after the Megenta results were reported. Today, the shares were up another 7.8 per cent by 12:11pm at 8.625 pence each.