Cyclone Metals Ltd (ASX:CLE) has further consolidated its landholding at the Nickol River Gold Project, adding two new exploration tenements to its portfolio.
The newly acquired properties, to the west and east of CLE's existing tenements, further cement its holding in Western Australia’s famed Pilbara region.
Cyclone will pick up the tenements under an agreement with owner Kay Trinder in exchange for roughly 11.7 million CLE shares.
To date, no substantial modern exploration has been executed over the new tenements, so CLE will kick things off with a geochemical sampling program in the near future.
The new properties
Together with its existing Nickol River tenements, the newly acquired properties form the central component of the Nickol River Gold Project, a gold exploration play just 13 kilometres from Karratha.
In late August, Cyclone acquired the Nickol River Mining Project — a package of seven granted mining leases, five miscellaneous licences and a water licence — from private company D&KD & K Corps Investments Pty Ltd for 100 million CLE shares.
The new tenements — P47/1524 and E47/3176 — sit to the west and east of the current portfolio, further consolidating Cyclone’s landholding.
Of course, there are some conditions that need to be satisfied for the acquisition to pass.
For one, Cyclone needs to complete a 45-day due diligence period and will pay a non-refundable $30,000 deposit.
The 11.7 million consideration shares will be issued under the company’s existing placement capacity.
Once approved, Cyclone intends to undertake a geochemical sampling program over the new tenements as part of its first-pass exploration mission.
If that proves successful, CLE management will consider deploying a sub-audio magnetics, ground-based geophysical survey.
Nickol River Project
Nickol River Project is a gold exploration asset within the Karratha Terrane on the north side of the Sholl Shear Zone, near the margin of the Karratha Granodiorite.
The immediate area surrounding and including Cyclone’s tenements has been explored for gold since 1889.
Most recently, tenement M47/1527, which is partly surrounded by Nickol River tenements M47/127 and M47/401, has been drilled by a series of owners.
It has also been mined for alluvial gold by its present owner, fellow ASX-lister Artemis Resources Ltd (ASX:ARV, ASX:ARV).
Speaking to the foundational tenement acquisition in August, Cyclone non-executive chairman Terry Donnelly said: "This is a small but significant acquisition in a very desirable location for gold.
“We will commence work on the ground immediately.”