IGO has added another exploration project to its portfolio, farming into Impact Minerals’ nickel-copper-platinum group metals project in Broken Hill, New South Wales.
Through wholly owned subsidiary IGO Newsearch, the Tier 1 miner can spend up to $18 million over eight years to earn a maximum 75 per cent interest in Impact’s EL7390 and EL8234 tenements.
This will be made possible across two stages. First, IGO can spend $6 million over four years to earn a 51 per cent interest in the project as part of the stage-one earn in.
If all goes well to that point, IGO can spend an additional $12 million over a further four years and earn an additional 24 per cent interest in the stage-two earn in, culminating in a total 75 per cent interest in the project.
Impact Minerals managing director Mike Jones said he was thrilled to have IGO on board as the company looks to capitalise on the project’s prospective deposits.
“We had a number of approaches from major companies for a joint venture after our last major drill campaign at Broken Hill but chose IGO because of their technical capacity, in particular their deep penetrating EM (electromagnetic) systems capability and experience, and also the way they have approached our negotiations,” he said.
“We have established that a large amount of deep drilling will be required to further explore the exciting prospects we have generated at the project, and it is appropriate that a well-funded partner with excellent credentials is brought in to help fund what could be quite significant expenditures going forward.”
If, after completing stage one of the earn in, IGO elects not to proceed to stage two or does not meet its expenditure requirements during stage two, IGO will revert to a 49 per cent interest in the project giving Impact a majority 51 per cent interest.
If stage two of IGO’s earn in is completed, the two parties can elect to contribute on a pro-rata basis or dilute.
With a minimum expenditure of $500,000 required in the first year of the farm in, IGO intends to complete ground EM geophysical surveys using a deep-penetrating SQUID system over at least the Moorkai Trend and the Little Broken Hill Gabbro deposits in the first 12 months.
Impact says there has been limited exploration for the best part of 30 years in the area, with the potential for the discovery of major deposits of silver-lead-zinc and in particular copper.