Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) -
Taruga Gold Ltd. (ASX:TAR) is pleased to present its quarterly activities report for the September quarter. During the quarter, Taruga announced the completion of the capital raising activities announced in the previous quarter, with a total of $1,071,000 raised before costs. As part of the process, Taruga undertook a consolidation of its securities on a 25:1 basis.
Exploration activities include geochemical sampling completed by
Resolute Mining Ltd. (Resolute) as part of the Cote d'Ivoire farm-in and Joint Venture. Taruga also continued to assess and review of landholding and this led to the relinquishment of two option agreements in Mali. In Niger the company has been granted two additional licences that adjoin the highly prospective Kossa project.
In September Taruga announced the signing of a non-binding heads of agreement (HoA) with
Newcrest Mining Ltd. (Newcrest). The HoA outlines the key key principles of a farm-in and joint venture for Taruga's 100% owned Dabakala Project, Cote d'Ivoire.
Cote d'Ivoire
Resolute Mining Ltd. Joint Venture
Resolute continued field activities during the quarter, with a major geochemical sampling program completed at the Tiebissou concession in central Cote d'Ivoire. A total of 1,277 samples were collected on the Joint Venture ground and initial results returned confirm a strong Gold-Arsenic-Antimony (Au-As-Sb) anomaly that is continuous from the Resolute ground to the Joint Venture ground. The anomaly is associated with a zone of strong shearing and geological complexity that is prospective for development of mineralisation.
A program of reconnaissance drilling is planned and site preparations are underway for the drilling to be commence in the next quarter.
And yes drill planning is completed and site preparations are underway with the intention to start drilling this calendar year.
Newcrest HoA (Cote d'Ivoire)
Taruga announced the signing of a HoA with Newcrest on 17 September 2015. The non-binding HoA outlines the key principles of a farm-in and joint venture for Taruga's 100% owned Dabakala Project, Cote d'Ivoire (Figure 1). Under the terms of the proposed JV, Newcrest will have the ability to earn a 75% interest in a JV company in Cote d'Ivoire by incurring exploration expenditure of US$1.7m over three years.
Taruga has entered into the non-binding HoA with Newcrest to achieve extensive exploration on the ground while maintaining significant exposure to exploration success. Newcrest is the owner of adjacent concessions and the geological interpretation indicates a continuity of geological structures and trends. Proposed exploration programs consist of infill auger geochemical sampling to define the gold anomalous zones prior to initial reconnaissance drill testing.
Summary Terms of the HoA and proposed JV
Under the HoA, Newcrest and Taruga agree to negotiate in good faith to seek to agree the final terms of a binding farm-in and JV agreement in accordance with the following key principles:
- Newcrest can earn a 75% interest in Taruga's Cote d'Ivoire subsidiary which holds the Dabakala concession by incurring exploration expenditure of US$1.7m within three years.
- Newcrest to incur a minimum of US$750,000 expenditure before withdrawal from the JV.
- Newcrest to make signature payments of US$50,000 on signing of HoA and a further US$50,000 on execution of definitive JV agreements in addition to minimum spend.
- Taruga will maintain a 100% interest until Newcrest completes the US$1.7million expenditure.
- The JV will be subject to Cote d'Ivoire regulatory approvals.
About Dabakala
The Dabakala concession is located in central Cote d'Ivoire and is 100% owned by Taruga subsidiary company International Goldfields CIV SARL. The concession was granted to Taruga in 2014.
Taruga has completed first pass geochemical sampling that outlined extensive surface gold anomalism associated with a major shear structure.1 The anomalies are regionally extensive and require infill geochemistry to define targets for reconnaissance drilling.
Newcrest has completed a regional stream sediment, rock chip and laterite sampling program as part of the project review which confirms the anomalous gold trends.
Mali
The Company continued its review of landholding and proposed work for this field season. At the SLAM project, the Company relinquished the Option agreements for the Djelibani and Balala concessions.
The Company intends to focus exploration activities on the Kambali prospect, where previous drilling has highlighted shallow, high-grade gold mineralization. In addition, the Company will continue to advance the strong gold anomalous zones in the Djelibani Sud concession.
Niger
During the quarter, Taruga received notification from the Niger Government that is had been granted two additional exploration licences - Ounzerbi and Kouriki. These new licences adjoin the highly prospective Kossa project and were initially targeted by Taruga to follow-up identified gold mineralized trends.
The company is currently compiling all available exploration information and completing a geological review of the concession area. In addition, Taruga received final documentation confirming the renewal and extension of term for the Kossa 1 and Kossa 2 concessions.
Corporate
Subsequent to quarter end the Company announced the resignation of Sam Edis as Joint Company Secretary. The Board wishes Sam well in his future endeavours.
To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-TAR-740183.pdf
About Taruga Gold Ltd:
Taruga Gold Ltd. (ASX:TAR) is a West African focused gold explorer that has compiled, and is currently compiling, a diverse portfolio of exploration projects within the Birimian geology of West Africa. This region is at present one of the world's great gold districts and has had a significant rate of discovery and development on new gold mines over past decades.
Contact:
Bernard Aylward, Managing Director
Taruga Gold Ltd.
Mob: +61 418 943 345
