Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) has moved to take majority control of Arafura Resources’ (ASX:ARU) Mt Porter and Frances Creek tenements in the Northern Territory under the terms of a 2014 farm-in deal.
The move follows confirmation from Ark last month that it was planning to expand its gold portfolio in the NT by acquiring the Glencoe project from NT Mining Operations (formerly Crocodile Gold Australia Operations).
The latest investment will add 30% to Ark’s interest in the Arafura properties, taking the company’s stake to 70%.
This will be achieved by extending the earning period and Ark agreeing to spend the greater of A$1.6 million or the aggregate amount necessary to satisfy tenement conditions by mid-July 2017.
Mt Porter holds a resource of 34,200 ounces of gold and is expected to provide recoveries in the range of 83-88%, producing about 27,000 ounces of gold.
Nearby Frances Creek is characterised by quartz veins outcropping on top of steep ridge crests, which are amenable to simple, low-cost open pit mining.
Glencoe, meanwhile, lies about 120 kilometres south of Darwin and is within trucking distance of the Union Reef gold mill on flat, easily accessible terrain.
Resources total 704,000 tonnes at 1.9 g/t gold for 42,900 ounces of gold. This includes 253,000 tonnes at 2.2g/t gold oxide for 17,700 ounces in oxide ounces.
Metallurgical testwork at the site has shown high gravity/cyanidation recoveries of 95.85%.
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