Eurasia Mining PLC (LON:EUA) climbed on Wednesday as it said licence applications for its Monchetundra and West Kytlim projects in Russia were “progressing well” as it advanced plans to expand its presence in the area.
In an update, the AIM-listed miner said it has also received written approval from Rosnedra, the Russian federal subsoil management agency, for subsoil use in relation to its Tipil licence, a 24.5 square kilometre area at West Kytlim that in June reported sedimentary units hosting deposits of platinum group metals (PGM). It is now awaiting a formal meeting with the local mines commission to complete the application process.
READ: Eurasia Mining hails “step change” in development as it takes full control of production at West Kytlim
While its application for Monchetundra progresses, Eurasia is also maintaining an engineering, procurement, construction and financing (EPCF) contract with Chinese state-owned firm Sinosteel, which is financing 85% of the US$176mln deal.
“We believe we are now established as a dominant player in the PGM space in the region and look forward to scaling up our operation providing a low cost PGM solution that is sustainable over potentially several decades”, said Eurasia chairman Christian Schaffalitzky.
In a separate announcement, the company clarified information around the Monchetundra flanks area and other immediate areas adjacent to its production licence, saying the potential PGM resource for the area was around 15mln ounces, with an additional potential resource of around 4mln ounces within 5 kilometres of the licence area.
“We have always noted the significant potential in the [Monchetundra] area which we now more strongly believe can be developed into a new global mining region for PGM to rival other large PGM producing regions of the world, including the Bushveld Complex in South Africa and the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia”,
Following the clarification of the company’s projects, analysts at First Equity pegged the shares with a ‘buy’ rating and a price target of 12.75p.
“With PGM prices on an upward trajectory, talks with interested parties in motion, [and] a favourable mineral licensing regime, [Eurasia is] a highly liquid share that is now on the radar screen of institutional investors”, the broker said.
The positive news sent Eurasia shares up 8.7% to 2.7p.