Greatland Gold PLC (AIM:GGP) has revealed that its partner at the Havieron gold project in Western Australia, Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) has completed stage 2 of the farm-in agreement by spending US$20mln on exploration.
Newcrest is now embarking on stage three of the farm-in, and in accordance with the agreement now holds 40% of Havieron, with the remaining 60% interest retained by Greatland.
In order to complete stage 3 of the farm-in, Newcrest must spend an additional US$25mln and deliver a pre-feasibility study.
Newcrest said it has continued infill drilling to support the delivery of a maiden resource in the second half of calendar year 2020 and is investigating the potential of an exploration decline.
Newcrest will provide updated Havieron drilling results in its quarterly exploration report to be released on April 30, 2020.
Elsewhere, Greatland said its other exploration activities in Western Australia have been delayed by the coronavirus crisis.
"The commencement of stage 3 of the farm-in agreement by Newcrest represents an important milestone in the life of the Havieron project as it now officially moves into the pre-feasibility study stage of development,” Greatland chief executive Gervaise Heddle said in a statement.
“In just over 12 months, Newcrest has delivered six consecutive sets of excellent drill results at Havieron, which support the potential for both high grade selective and bulk mining methods. We are delighted by Newcrest's ongoing commitment and we look forward to reporting further results as work continues towards the next major milestone at Havieron, the delivery of a maiden mineral resource in the second half of the 2020 calendar year.”