Evolution inks gold-copper JV agreement at Murchison

According to Mining News Pro - The Murchison project is prospective for Archaean greenstone gold deposits and encompasses poorly tested continuations of the Big Bell and Cuddingwarra shear zones, which host multi-million ounce gold deposits at Big Bell, Cuddingwarra and Mount Magnet.

Neighbouring gold mines include Westgold’s Big Bell (with a historical production of 2.8 million ounces), Day Down (1.7 million ounces) and Cuddingwarra (800,000 ounces).

Evolution was required to make an initial cash payment of $150,000 to Enterprise upon signing the agreement.

“Murchison is a compelling exploration project in a well-endowed gold district,” Evolution vice president discovery and business development Glen Masterman said.

“It presents a rare opportunity in which the most prospective areas remain poorly tested under shallow cover.”

Evolution, acting as project operator during the earn-in period, will spend $6 million on exploration over four years for an 80 per cent stake in the operation.

It will also make an additional cash payment to Enterprise of $150,000 should the agreement remain in place after two years.

Murchison is Evolution’s second cooperative project after its acquisition of a major stake in Glencore’s Ernest Henry copper-gold operation in Queensland in 2016.

Enterprise Metals, formerly Revere Mining, is a Western-Australian based company focused on gold and base metals exploration in Australia.

The Murchison JV transaction will be completed based on standard regulatory conditions.