Australia-based Firetail Resources has met the conditions of an option agreement to earn interest in York Harbour Metals’ (YHM) Newfoundland copper-zinc-silver project.
Having finalised the first milestone of the three-year agreement, Firetail now holds a 49% interest and has an option to earn up to an additional 31% undivided interest in the project upon completion of three remaining milestones.
Firetail has also granted a 2% net smelter returns royalty to YHM over the project.
If Firetail reaches an 80% interest, a joint venture will be formed with YHM, and the company will receive a free carried interest until Firetail produces and delivers a pre-feasibility study.
Otherwise, both parties will bear their pro-rata share of future expenditures, with YHM’s interest not falling below 20%.
The option agreement was announced in June, with Firetail paying a A$100,000 ($68,747) exclusivity fee.
The total consideration includes A$500,000, 175 million ordinary shares of Firetail and a commitment to complete 10km of drilling.
Firetail managing director and CEO Glenn Poole commented: “This is an exciting milestone as the company progresses its copper-focused strategy. We are also pleased to welcome YHM onto the register as a significant shareholder.”
Poole added that Firetail will undertake further sampling and relogging of recent drilling undertaken by YHM ahead of its own upcoming drilling programme.
Located in Newfoundland and Labrador, the project consists of seven mineral licences and 189 mineral claims, spanning 4,725 hectares.
It has historic production of 100,000 tonnes mined at 3–12% of copper, 7% of zinc and 1–3 troy ounces of gold.
On 10 September, Firetail announced an expansion of the project’s current permitted area for a more extensive drill programme beyond the known mineralised zones, as the company aims to expand its existing portfolio of copper and battery metals projects.
Firetail’s mines are located in Canada, Peru and Australia and range from early exploration to early resource stages.
