BELGRADE (Serbia), March 12 (SeeNews) – Australia-based mining group Rio Tinto plans to launch a reconnaissance drill programme at Majdanpek West and Majdanpek Pojas copper and gold licences in Serbia in April, its joint venture (JV) partner Raiden Resources said.
The reconnaissance drill programme will consist of approximately 1,000 metres of diamond drilling adjusted to test results and will be initiated as soon as all the access permissions have been received, Raiden Resources said in a statement on Monday.
In March 2018, Raiden Resources entered into a $31.5 million (27.9 million euro) earn-in and JV agreement regarding three of its copper and gold exploration licenses in Serbia with Rio Tinto. The agreement provides Rio Tinto with the option to spend up to $31.5 million to earn up to a 75% project-level interest of the Zapadni Majdanpek, Majdanpek Pojas and Donje Nevlje licenses in the prolific Western Tethyan Metallogenic Belt.
"The company is very excited by the quality work Rio Tinto has executed to date. As a result of Rio’s exploration programme, a number of anomalies have been defined on the Majdanpek West project and we expect that drill testing will commence in the near future. The company believes that this project and the joint venture with Rio Tinto is creating value for the shareholders, while preserving the Company’s cash balance and limiting dilution to shareholders," Dusko Ljubojevic, managing director of Raiden, said.
The licenses are located within the prolific Western Tethyan metallogenic belt and the exploration targets are for copper-gold porphyry and related mineralisation. The Majdanpek West and Majdanpek Pojas licenses are located within the northern section of the Timok Magmatic Complex, in the Serbian section of the East European Carpathian-Balkan Arc.
Rio Tinto discovered a world-class lithium-borate deposit in the valley of the Jadar river in Serbia in 2004. The company has said it plans to start production in 2023, assuming that feasibility studies confirm viability and all necessary approvals are obtained.
($ = 0.8869 euro)