Newmont Corporation has bolstered its exploration portfolio by executing a farm-in agreement with Prodigy Gold at the Monza gold project in Northern Territory.
Through wholly owned subsidiary Newmont Exploration, the Tier 1 gold miner can spend $6 million or establish a JORC 2012 inferred mineral resource (whichever comes first) at Monza to earn an initial 51 per cent stake in the project.
If Newmont elevates Monza to a mining operation, the company will earn an additional 29 per cent stake, culminating in an 80 per cent total interest in the project.
In the case that Monza has reached mining status, Prodigy Gold can elect to increase Newmont’s interest in the joint venture (JV) to 85 per cent if Newmont commits to funding Prodigy Gold’s share of future JV costs between the date of notice until first commercial production.
Prodigy Gold managing director Matt Briggs said the Monza JV solidified his company’s rapport with Newmont.
“Prodigy Gold has established a good working relationship with Newmont through a current joint venture over the Tobruk gold project (in NT), so we are looking forward to combining our technical expertise to advance Monza,” he said.
“This is a favourable agreement for Prodigy Gold which will see the company retain a 20 per cent free carried interest through to decision to mine. We look forward to providing further updates on exploration plans for Monza in due course.”
Monza spans more than 3000 square kilometres of exploration licences and applications in the Tanami region of NT, where Newmont’s Tanami gold operation is located.
The project is situated along the Trans-Tanami Fault trend which is home to major gold deposits such as Newmont’s 14.2-million-ounce Callie gold mine.
Ten of Monza’s 18 tenements have had no drilling in the last 20 years, with soil sampling and reconnaissance drilling the primary exploration activities in the past.