West Perth-based private company Asia Resources 168 Ltd has signed a farm-in deal with Carnegie Minerals Plc, which will see the UK-based company fund a nickel and iron exploration program on Asia Resources' tenements on Indonesia's Obi Island.
West Perth-based private company Asia Resources 168 Ltd has signed a farm-in deal with Carnegie Minerals Plc, which will see the UK-based company fund a nickel and iron exploration program on Asia Resources' tenements on Indonesia's Obi Island.
Carnegie has agreed to fund staged exploration and evaluation programmes to the extent of the first $US1 million at which point it will be deemed to have earned a 50 per cent interest in the project, but the company has the right to withdraw at any stage prior to expending this amount.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
Carnegie Minerals Plc (AIM - CME), the mineral sands resource company with production interests in The Gambia and advanced exploration in adjoining Senegal, is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement with Western Australian based private resource exploration company, Asia Resources 168 Limited (ARL), to fund a staged exploration programme for iron and nickel laterite mineralisation on the island of Obi, Indonesia. ARL holds interests in a SKIP licence (temporary prospecting permit) in the southern part of Obi Island and plans to apply for further areas identified by Carnegie.
Carnegie has agreed to fund staged exploration and evaluation programmes to the extent of the first USD 1 million at which point it will be deemed to have earned a 50% interest in the CME - ARL OBI Island Project. Carnegie has the right to withdraw at any stage prior to expending this amount, however will retain no equity in the Project. Carnegie shall be the operator undertaking the exploration work with ARL responsible for logistics and local government relations.
Obi Island is situated midway between Irian Jaya and Sulawesi. It is part of the Sulawesi - Halmahera ophiolitic belt that hosts some substantial nickel laterite deposits including some under development and in production and is considered highly prospective for new discoveries.
Indonesian (partially government owned) mining company, PT Antam Tbk (Antam), which is also listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX Code: ATM) has announced exploration results for the western part of Obi, outside of the CME-ARL Obi Island Project area. Antam has reported sizeable nickel laterite deposits within its tenement areas with grades from 2.2% Ni (saprolite) to 1.5% Ni and 43% Fe (limonite) in a typical tropical laterite profile.
Carnegie will target these types of deposits that have recently attracted much attention as a source of low-cost, direct supply of iron and nickel feedstock for metallurgical plants in Asia. Strong economic growth in China and other major economies in the region is driving demand for such feedstock.
Carnegie has the option to convert its 50% interest in the project to a gross sales royalty of 1% after it has expended USD 1 million or 2% if it has contributed to the extent of USD 2.5 million or greater.
Carnegie and ARL hope to use this initial project as a basis for co-operation on other similar prospects within Indonesia where ARL has extensive strategic interests.
Carnegie Managing Director Alan Hopkins said
"This new project is part of a solid growth plan for the Company, using the skills developed in our West African projects and applying them to bulk commodities in new prospective regions.
"It has always been part of Carnegie strategy to leverage our expertise in mineral exploration and development in West Africa to further projects in industrial minerals and bulk commodities internationally. We are confident that this blossoming relationship with ARL will lead to further significant value enhancing projects."
