Stratex International defines JV terms with Turkish partner for Inlice and Altintepe gold projects

Stratex International (AIM: STI) has signed a agreement with privately held NTF Insaat Ticaret (NTF), to define the terms of their partnership in the development of the Inlice and Altintepe gold projects in Turkey.

The agreement formally establishes a joint venture company, NS Madencilik, in which NTF can earn up to 55% through the funding of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on the projects.  Upon closure, NTF will pay Stratex US$1 million, with further payments scheduled throughout the project development-cycle.

"This is a significant advancement in the development of Stratex, and takes us one step further to becoming a gold production company, allowing us to unlock the considerable value in our exploration portfolio”, said Stratex chairman David J. Hall, “We look forward to a long and successful relationship with NTF and will seek to grow the JV production vehicle through further discoveries and acquisitions”.

The deal builds on an initial memorandum of understanding (MOU), which was signed by the companies in June 2009. NTF has been funding scoping and pre-feasibility studies on Inlice and Altintepe since the signing of the MOU. NS Madencilik is targeting production at Inlice during the second half of 2011, while it is anticipated that the Altintepe project may come into production within three years.

Under the terms of the joint venture, NTF will finance feasibility studies on Inlice up to an amount of US$2 million until NS Madencilik decides to move the project into production, at which point NTF and Stratex may seek debt financing. Stratex may alternatively opt to accept a loan of up to US$2 million from NTF to fund its contribution to construction costs. In the financing of the Altintepe development, NTF will fund scoping and pre-feasibility studies up to $500,000 and, subject to positive outcomes, will fund a further US$2 million of feasibility studies to take the project to a decision on whether to move to construction and production

The Inlice project, which is located in southern Turkey, currently contains a total resource of 262,300 ounces of gold. According to Stratex, the ‘open-pittable’ in situ oxide resource is 944,495 tonnes grading 2.29 grams per tonne (gpt) for 69,324 ounces.  At Altintepe in northern Turkey, the oxide resource currently stands at 472,318 ounces of gold, comprising of approximately 13 million tonnes (Mt) grading 1.12 gpt gold in all categories and including 8.3Mt grading 1.48 gpt.

Since NTF’s involvement in June, an 899m drilling program was completed at the Inlice project to define the in-situ resource of Ana East and Gap Zones and provide material for detailed metallurgical test work. The potentially mineable section of the Ana Zone was extended by 260m to the south-east. Among the results, Stratex intersected gold mineralisation highlighting of 16m grading 1.16 grams per tonne (gpt), 22m grading 0.81 gpt and 20m grading 0.84 gpt. In total the program drilled 58 holes totalling 835 m and 104 pits were completed to define overlying talus resource. Of them, four drill holes totalling 173m were completed for geotechnical purposes, with core samples submitted for evaluation at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara.

At Altintepe, an environmental baseline study being conducted by consultants Golder Resources is well advanced and SRK Consulting have been reviewing past drilling in order to make recommendations for future infill resource drilling.

Having secured the joint venture and the resultant project financing, Stratex can focus its resources towards the development of its Shehagne project in Ethopia, as well as its separate joint venture with Teck Resources on the Hasançelebi gold project. "We will also continue to develop the rest of our Turkish exploration portfolio with our partners Teck Resources Limited and Centerra Gold Inc. and, with the additional £1.3 million that we raised recently, we can now rapidly advance the Shehagne project and our exciting new epithermal district discovery in Ethiopia",  David J. Hall commented.

In Ethiopia, Stratex is carrying out exploration work through a joint venture with Sheba Resources (PLUS: SHE). Stratex recently announced it would increase its stake in the Shehagne Exclusive Exploration License to 60%, through expending a further £250,000 on the project. In January Stratex revealed that its exploration programme returned further high grade results. Channel chip results defined an extensive zone of gold mineralisation of 900 metres in length and more than 200 metres in width within the Tsemmetti target area, where the latest exploration results included intersections of 11 metres grading 4.39 g/t (grammes per tonne) gold and 40 metres grading 1.40 g/t gold and selective individual and composite vein samples assayed up to 66.30 g/t gold and including 46.8 g/t gold, 26.5 g/t gold, 23.8 g/t gold, 20.8 g/t gold and 14.7 g/t gold.

Stratex is currently awaiting results from a new zone discovered 800 metres to the north-north-west of the Tsemmetti area of the license.