Australian exploration company Apollo Minerals Ltd has entered into an agreement with NeoMetal Spania S.L to acquire a 75% interest in the Aurenere tungstengold project (Aurenere Project) in northern Spain, which is located along strike and consistent with the geology from its Couflens Project in France.
The Aurenere Project comprises an Investigation Permit application that covers a 55km2 area directly adjacent to the company’s Couflens Project in France, which includes the historic Salau mine, previously one of the world’s highest-grade tungsten mines when it operated from 1971 to 1986.
The acquisition of the Aurenere Project, when combined with the 42km2 Couflens Project, increases the company’s landholding to 97km2 in this highly prospective region of the Pyrenees.
The company’s acquisition of the Aurenere Project follows recent work programmes at its Couflens Project in France which led to an enhanced understanding of the geology and regional scale exploration potential of the area. Field campaigns carried out within the Couflens licence area confirmed the presence of widespread tungsten (up to 8.25% WO3) and high grade gold (up to 24.5 g/t). These campaigns highlighted significant potential for shear hosted gold mineralisation to be associated with large fault structures extending to the west of the Salau mine area towards the Aurenere Project.
The company has entered into a Share Purchase and Shareholders Heads of Agreement (HoA) whereby it will acquire 75% of the share capital of NeoMetal, which holds the rights to the 100% interest in the Aurenere Project. The commercial terms of the acquisition of the upfront 75% interest in Neometal include €100 000 cash up-front and a further €150 000 upon the grant of the Investigation Permit.