October 29 (SeeNews) - U.K.-based Cambridge Mineral Resources (CMR) said on Monday it has signed a joint venture agreement over its exploration permits in Bulgaria with a subsidiary of privately-held gold exploration company Electrum.
CMR has completed an earn-in joint venture agreement whereby Electrum can earn up to an 80% interest in a number of exploration permits presently held by CMR in Bulgaria, the company said in a statement.
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To earn this interest Electrum is required to expend $2.2 million (1.5 million euro) over five years and to make an initial investment in CMR as the investment is for 50,000 British pounds ($103,000/71,000 euro) to acquire 833,333 shares, it added.
"We believe that this transaction will enable rapid progress to be made with our exploration programmes in Bulgaria where we hold a significant portfolio of very prospective targets," CMR managing director was quoted in the statement as saying.
The company holds five exploration permits, but the most advanced projects are the Tashlaka Hill and Chaira gold deposits, which contain estimated gold resources of over 250,000 ounces and 450,000 ounces respectively. An ounce is equal to 28.35 grams.
Electrum is a global gold exploration company with interests in over 70 projects located in the western United States, Africa, South America, Asia, and now, Eastern Europe. Its management services company, Electrum USA is headquartered in the U.S.
CMR (www.cambmin.co.uk), which is listed on the London's Alternative Investment Market, focuses on the exploration for and production of gold and base metals in Bulgaria, Serbia and Spain, Colombia and Peru.