Essex Minerals Inc said it has reached an agreement with Meryllion Resources Corporation for an arm’s length option and earn-in joint venture on the Mt Turner copper-molybdenum and Drummer Fault gold projects located in north Queensland, Australia.
The company told shareholders that its exploration at Mt Turner has identified soil anomalies consistent with circular aeromagnetic and geological features that display the classic signature of a large copper-molybdenum porphyry system.
Essex noted that Mt Turner also has the potential for an economic gold resource along the Drummer Fault structure, because of gold mineralization beneath six small oxide open pits, previous drilling, and rock chip samples along 14 kilometres of the identified strike length within the project area.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Essex has provided Meryllion with a 90-day option to fund a minimum of $250,000 exploration at Mt Turner.
Meryllion will also pay Essex $25,000 for the option and a further $75,000 to exercise the option.
In return, Meryllion will have the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the project by funding up to $3.8 million in exploration across three stages.
Essex CEO Paul Loudon highlighted an independent 2021 report by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) that indicated worldwide copper demand for transitioning to green energy will increase from under 1 million tonnes to approximately 5.4 million tonnes by 2030.
“Copper is expected to play a critical role in the electrification of the global economy and the transition to green energy,” Loudon said in a statement. “We are very pleased that our initial exploration has demonstrated the potential for the discovery of a large copper-molybdenum (with silver and gold) deposit at Mt Turner and has resulted in favourable option and earn-in joint venture terms with Meryllion.”
Essex is a Vancouver-based project generator focused on mineral exploration and mine development, with a particular emphasis on gold projects in Tier 1 jurisdictions.
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