Metco shares jump

Shares in Metco Resources (MKO-V) surged 2.5, or about 21%, to 14.5 in late afternoon trading on Dec. 22, after the junior granted Noranda (NRD-T) an option to earn up to a 70% stake in its properties in the Rouyn-Noranda region of Quebec. Shares last traded at 16.5.

The major can initially earn a half-interest in the Rouyn, d’Alembert and Lac Dufault properties (excluding the eastern and western blocks of Lac Dufault) by spending $2 million on exploration and paying up to $125,000 in cash over three years.

Noranda can then boost its stake to 65% by completing five more years of work and a feasibility study. Another 5% can be had by bringing any of the projects into production.

A drill rig is now on the Rouyn property, where diamond drilling is following up on geophysical targets outlined by electromagnetic surveying.

Metco says the anomalies suggest the presence of sulphide conductor zones with a radius of up to 150 metres.