Royal Road Minerals Ltd (CVE:RYR) has advanced its Colombian exploration ambitions - striking a binding framework agreement with Economias Sociales del Comun, sending shares higher.
The latter is a joint social and economic organization established in May this year, in the wake of the final peace agreement, between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People's Army (FARC-EP), inked in November 2016.
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Royal Road has gold and copper exploration projects in the Narino province in southern Colombia.
It "aligns Royal Road with the Colombian Government's post-conflict aspirations"= and demands an exemplary level of social engagement and environmental stewardship from both parties, the company said.
"Reaching an agreement on the key terms of a deal with Ecomun is a significant milestone for Royal Road and for our Narino project," said Dr Timothy Coughlin, the group's president and chief executive.
"This agreement is historic in that it is the first of its kind since the peace agreement was reached. The agreed framework is an important step in allowing Royal Road to establish and maintain broad-based community and governmental support for its operations in Narino Province, and reaffirms our commitment to generating economic benefits locally and to high standards of social and environmental performance."
Royal Road has applied for more than 400,000 hectares of concession contracts covering what management believe is highly prospective geology for both gold and copper-gold in Narino province.
Of those, around 40% have advanced beyond the initial process of area adjustments and acquiring local municipal approvals and have been offered to Royal Road as 30-year concession contracts.
The company has accepted these applications and is advancing with the National Mining Agency (ANM) to complete the concession contract process.
In exchange for Ecomun's performance of its obligations, Royal Road will grant it a net smelter royalty equal to one percent (1%) of the gold and copper produced from its mining projects in Narino Province.
The royalty is entirely for the benefit of local communities and both parties.
Shares in Royal Road raced up over 17.6% in Toronto at C$0.10.