New Talisman Gold Mines Ltd (ASX:NTL,NZSX:NTL) has pounced on 100% of Newcrest New Zealand Exploration Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM).
The importance of the deal is that New Talisman will acquire 80% of the highly prospective Rahu Project, and with its previous 20% holding, will now have full ownership.
The company will advance exploration quickly, and has drill ready targets, with the program to commence after the finalisation of the Share Purchase Plan.
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New Talisman has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Newcrest which supersedes the previous agreements.
Rahu has a JORC 2012 resource of 41,590 ounces of gold and 258,400 ounces of silver in the indicated and inferred categories.
Exploration targets have been estimated at 14 million tonnes ranging between 0.5g/t and 2.0g/t gold for 225,000 to 902,000 ounces of gold.
Matthew Hill, chief executive officer, commented:
"Following discussions with Newcrest it was agreed that NTL could acquire Newcrest’s 80% interest in the Rahu project.
"We are very excited by the opportunity of this drill ready prospect and appreciate the efforts of the Newcrest team in completing this transaction in a short space of time."
New Talisman is evaluating options to fast-track the exploration project having acquired all geological and site targeting data and logging.
Charbel Nader, chairman, added:
"We are pleased to take over effective ownership of the Rahu asset.
"Newcrest has been a great partner, however with our on-ground NZ presence and expertise, and our desire to move ahead in developing this asset expeditiously, this deal makes sense for all."
Rahu strategically located
The Rahu tenement lies immediately to the north of the Talisman Mine and on the same strike line as the gold bearing veins at Talisman.
Exploration has defined a 2 kilometre long zone of coincident geochemical, resistivity and ground magnetic anomalies.
This area is believed to have similar potential to Talisman and is the focus of continuing exploration.
Previous drilling intersected anomalous gold in several holes.
The initial drilling, which was relatively shallow and still within the upper zone of the epithermal system, confirmed the company’s geological model for the property.
Structurally the Rahu block is believed to have been downthrown, supporting the potential for Talisman-type grades to be intersected in deeper drilling beneath these strong indications.
Talisman Gold Project
The recent resource upgrade at the Talisman Mine delivered 427,000 ounces gold equivalent, which provides the company with comfort in its development of Rahu on an accelerated basis.
The project has high-grade zones, such as the Talisman and Bonanza Zones having an inferred resource of 73,601 gold ounce equivalent at 23.64g/t gold equivalent.
Analysis of the Crown and Mystery Modules to comply with JORC 2012 reporting standards has commenced and is anticipated to take three months.
An extraction phase is expected to begin at the project in December.