Awale Resources Ltd (TSX-V:ARIC) announced that its partner Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM, TSX:NGT, ASX:NEM, ETR:NMM) has progressed to Phase 2 of the earn-in agreement for its joint venture at the Odienné gold-copper project Côte d'Ivoire.
The company said that Newmont could earn a further 14% interest in the project for a total of 65% by spending US$10 million in exploration expenditures and defining a minimum two million ounce gold reserve.
It highlighted that under Phase 1 of the earn-in agreement, the company reported positive drill results and four discoveries.
Most notably, recent drilling at the Charger and BBM targets confirmed high-grade mineralization with results such as 45.7 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 32 meters at Charger and 2.4 g/t gold equivalent over 75 meters at BBM.
"This potential investment of up to US$10 million in exploration expenditure from Newmont paired with our recent C$11.5 million equity financing puts Awalé on solid footing to continue to deliver exploration success at the Odienné project," said Andrew Chubb, CEO of Awalé.
Newmont did not participate in the C$11.5 million equity financing which Awalé said allows for potential greater diversification in its investor base as it continues to be supported in its joint venture efforts by Newmont.
Awalé is focused on the discovery of large high-grade gold and copper-gold deposits.