Jubilee, Image take more stakes in Emu Lake JV

West Perth-based Jubilee Mines NL will acquire an additional 6.7 per cent stake in the Emu Lake nickel joint venture project from Skryne Hill Pty Ltd, upping its stake to 66.7 per cent.

West Perth-based Image Resources NL will take Skryne's remaining 3.3 per cent stake in the JV.

Under the revised terms of the joint venture, Jubilee subsidiary, Sir Samuel Mines NL, will contribute $3.2 million at the rate of at least $1 million per year over the next 39 months or withdraw from the joint venture.

Following the expenditure of $3.25 million by Jubilee, Image will have the option to either dilute or contribute to joint venture expenditure. Jubilee will continue to be manager of the joint venture.

The full text of a Jubilee announcement is pasted below

Jubilee Mines NL (ASX: JBM) is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire an additional 6.6% ownership interest in the Emu Lake joint venture from Skryne Hill Pty Ltd, increasing its joint venture ownership interest to 66.7%. Image Resources NL has agreed to acquire Skryne Hill's remaining 3.3% joint venture interest.

Under the revised terms of the joint venture, Jubilee's subsidiary, Sir Samuel Mines NL, will sole contribute $3.25 million at the rate of at least $1 million per year over the next 3¼ years or, failing that, withdraw from the joint venture. Following the expenditure of $3.25 million by Jubilee, Image will have the option to either dilute or contribute to joint venture expenditure. Jubilee will continue to be manager of the joint venture.

The total consideration for the purchase of Skryne Hill's 10% joint venture interest is the sum of $750,000 plus an increase in the vendor's royalty to 1.75%. Jubilee will pay $500,000 in cash and Image will pay $250,000, being $100,000 in cash and the remainder in Image shares to Skryne Hill.

The Emu Lake nickel project is situated 70 km north east of Kalgoorlie and about 30km east of the high-grade Silver Swan nickel mine. Drilling has identified significant nickel sulphide mineralisation over a strike length of more than 300m, open at depth, on an ultramafic contact. To date, ten high-grade drill intersections have been made at grades of between 3%-10% Ni with best intersections of 2m @ 6.2% Ni, 1.8% Cu and 2.2g/t PGE (platinum group elements) from 336.0m and 2m @ 2.0% Ni, 1.0% Cu and 4.2g/t PGE from 343.5m in drill hole ELD15.

The revised terms of the joint venture are anticipated to result in a reinvigorated drilling programme to test for depth extensions to the high-grade contact mineralisation which may to be similar to the nearby Silver Swan mine where high-grade nickel mineralisation has been traced to depths of more than 1500m below surface.