Mirasol Resources (TSXV: MRZ) has signed an option agreement with subsidiaries of Newmont (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT) to acquire the Inca gold project in northern Chile.
The agreement would give Mirasol the opportunity to add to its portfolio a district-scale and underexplored, intermediate sulfidation epithermal project in the Paleocene belt of Chile.
“This is an attractive transaction allowing Mirasol to acquire Inca Gold by exploring and drilling the property. If our exploration demonstrates the potential for a Newmont size target, the agreement will allow them to earn back 70% of the project by reimbursing our costs and investing in significant additional exploration expenditures,” said Mirasol president and CEO Norm Pitcher.
Mirasol was granted the option over five years to earn-in 100% of the project, subject to a 1.5% net smelter royalty, by drilling 1,000 metres on the project over two years and incurring $3 million in exploration expenditures over the five-year period.
The 14,000-hectare Inca project is located in Region III of Chile, about 100 kilometres north of Copiapo and 17 kilometres east of the town of Inca de Oro.
Newmont’s exploration work to date has been limited to surface and prospecting activities, which have identified five target areas, none of which have been drill tested.