Eurasia Mining plc (LON:EUA) and Metal Tiger Plc (LON:MTR) have extended an option deal for the potential acquisition of a gold and silver tailings recovery project in Russia.
The original arrangement, with Russian company OOO Golden Sands, gave the partners six months to conduct due diligence before making a decision on the acquisition of a 67% stake in the Semenovsky Tailings Project (STP).
That has now been extended by a further three months, giving them until August 15.
Mainly the extra time is needed so that a metallurgical study can be completed, and to allow the commercial relationships to be advanced to a formal joint venture agreement.
Eurasia highlighted that significant progress has been made in the initial 6 months, since November 2015, and a Russian report equivalent to a pre-feasibility document has been approved by the authorities.
Drilling work has also been completed to enable samples to be recovered for analysis, and the metallurgical work is being done at an internationally accredited testing facility.
Christian Schaffalitzky, Eurasia Mining managing director, said he was pleased with the progress to date, and all indications from STP have thus far been positive.
“We expect to update again shortly on the outcomes of the metallurgical sampling study,” he added.
“This is a busy time for all staff at Eurasia as we approach first platinum production at West Kytlim where work is now being finalised to complete the programme for mining of alluvial platinum this summer. A further announcement will follow in the coming weeks."