The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price will be on watch this morning after the mineral exploration company announced it has entered into a $15 million earn-in agreement in the Paterson Province.
IGO Ltd, formerly Independence Group NL, is a mineral exploration company with a particular focus on nickel and copper mining in Australia. IGO is the 100% owner of the Nova nickel-copper-cobalt Operation and has a 30% interest in the Tropicana Gold Mine. The company also holds a portfolio of exploration projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Details of the new Paterson Province agreement
In an ASX release this morning, IGO outlined its intention to enter into an earn-in and joint venture agreement with Encounter Resources covering its Yeneena Copper-Cobalt Project in the Paterson Province.
The Yeneena Copper-Cobalt Project comprises more than 1,400 square kilometres of land in the Paterson Province region which is being targeted for copper-cobalt mineralisation.
Under the new agreement, IGO will fully fund up to $15 million in exploration expenditure via an earn-in and joint venture agreement.
IGO and Encounter applied advanced geophysical and geochemical exploration methods at Yeneena during 2019 which have defined new, large scale copper-cobalt targets.
Upon completing the earn-in, IGO will have a 70% interest in the Yeneena Copper-Cobalt Project joint venture, subject to certain conditions being met.
Exploration in the Paterson Province continues to accelerate
The announcement added that exploration activity at the Yeneena Project is anticipated to resume in the coming months of April or May. According to the release, the Paterson Province is a highly fertile district that offers significant potential for the discovery of new copper-cobalt under thin sand cover.
Following the Winu copper-gold discovery made by Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and the Havieron gold-copper project operated by Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), exploration activity in the Paterson Province continues to accelerate at a rapid pace.
Commenting on the ASX release today, Encounter Managing Director Will Robinson said:
"This partnership with Independence Group is just what Yeneena needed. Deploying a suite of new exploration methodologies in 2019 has provided a whole new perspective on the mineral potential at Yeneena. We look forward to continuing this exciting partnership with IGO to refine and test a number of large-scale copper-cobalt targets at Yeneena in 2020."
