Venture Minerals has continued its recent splurge on rare earths projects by signing a joint venture (JV) agreement designed to deliver the diversified metals explorer a majority stake in the Western Australian project known as Iron Duke.
The West Perth-based company’s JV agreement with Iron Duke’s owner, Sentinel Exploration, gives it the chance to earn-in 51 per cent of the project by spending $250,000 within two years, including a minimum of $75,000 in the first year.
By choosing to nab a slice of the project, management has clearly referenced its liking for the mineralisation prospects of WA’s Mid West region.
Iron Duke sits immediately south of Venture’s Brothers rare earths project, which it acquired just last month. Brothers is next to the company’s Vulcan rare earths prospect between Mullewa and Mount Magnet, which recently gave up high-grade rare earths reaching up to 125,165 parts per million, or 12.5 per cent total rare earths oxide (TREO).
Another April acquisition for Venture was the Bandy project, which comprises 809 square kilometres of land about 250km south east of Mount Magnet. The company has also pegged an additional 257sq km tenement package adjacent to both Brothers and Iron Duke, bringing its total project area of prospective rare earths tenure up to 919sq km.
Venture says Iron Duke has only been probed with two shallow historic RC drill holes and both intersected broad high-grade rare earth zones. Figures include 49m at 1313ppm TREO from 12m to the end of the hole, including 20m going 1721ppm TREO from 20m and 49m at 953ppm TREO from 12m to the end of the hole, including 1118ppm TREO from 16m.
Management is now eager to get the drill bits spinning to see what else Iron Duke and its other new acquisitions have to offer.
Venture Minerals managing director Andrew Radonjic said: “These acquisitions cement Venture’s aggressive move into the REE space, an ever-increasing important part of the push into global decarbonisation. The Company now looks forward to drilling these high priority targets later this month.”
Details of the JV agreement include a stipulation that upon Venture earning 51 per cent of Iron Duke, Sentinel has the option to contribute 49 per cent of expenditure costs relating to the tenements or dilute to 30 per cent. The latter option would require Venture to spend a further $500,000 within the next two years to earn its 70 per cent holding.
If that occurs, Sentinel will have the option to contribute 30 per cent of costs or dilute to a 10 per cent free-carried interest to the completion of an economically-viable and bankable feasibility study, or a definitive feasibility study on the project – whichever comes first.
If Venture earns 90 per cent of the JV, Sentinel must elect to either contribute financially or sell its interest to its partner based on an independent expert’s valuation. The former may withdraw at any time after meeting its minimum first-year expenditure commitment.
Venture has made clear in the past its desire to build a portfolio of high-quality rare earths projects that would help counter the potential threat of China limiting global supply. With these new acquisitions adding to its stock, in addition to the high-grade magnet rare earths targets uncovered at its Mount Lindsay tin-tungsten project in Tasmania, the company is making every effort to contribute to the cause.
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By Mark Irving
