New partners Piedmont Mining (NASDAQ) and Amax Gold (NYSE) recently signed a definitive joint venture agreement for the Haile property near Kershaw, S.C.
Amax announced the purchase of a 67.5% interest in the property earlier this year in return for one million common shares of Amax and US$1.75 million in cash.
The companies also approved a revised exploration and development budget of US$4.49 million for this year. The budget includes about US$1.9 million for exploration, the majority of which will be drilling.
Three drill rigs are currently in operation on the property, although no assay results are available yet.
The most recent estimate puts proven and probable open pit reserves at about 14.6 million tons grading 0.072 oz. gold per oz. at a strip ratio of 5.8-to-1. Amax, operator of the project, plans to complete a bankable feasibility study on a 5,000-ton-per-day mining and milling operation capable of producing in the order of 100,000 oz. of gold per year.
Piedmont has in excess of US$3.1 million in cash and cash equivalent, more than enough to cover its share of exploration costs this year. Piedmont will also receive additional funds from the recently announced sale of its Mineralite business north of Kershaw. The company will receive more than US$900,000 for the business as well as retaining cash and accounts receivable totalling US$218,000.
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