Sunrise Resources PLC (AIM:SRES) said Tolsa USA has submitted a notice to the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for approval of an extensive trenching programme at the Pioche sepiolite project in Nevada as part of its ongoing due diligence.
Tolsa has been granted an option by Sunrise to buy Pioche for US$1.25mln plus an ongoing payment to Sunrise of a 3% royalty.
Subject to BLM approval, the trenching work is expected to take up to four weeks to complete.
Tolsa, a Spanish company, is the world's largest producer of sepiolite, a rare clay used in a wide range of applications.
Patrick Cheetham, Sunrise’s executive chairman, said: "We are very encouraged by the rapid start Tolsa has made in its evaluation of the Pioche project.
"Up to 2km of excavator trenching is now proposed to excavate across these horizons which appear to extend throughout the project area.”