Solex Resources, a Canadian based exploration company, has entered into a letter of intent with, gold producer, Eldorado Gold to acquire 100% of the Macusani East uranium project in south-eastern Peru. Solex currently owns 50% of the project through a joint venture with Eldorado. “With this transaction Solex has met its objective of bringing operatorship and ownership of the majority of the Macusani district back under its direct control,” said Jonathan Challis, President and CEO of Solex. “Macusani has long been regarded as the most prospective region for uranium exploration in South America. Over the past four years our understanding of the structural controls to mineralisation and the types of mineralisation has increased significantly. With the development of strong local uranium expertise, we have built a strong platform to accelerate our exploration efforts,” Challis added.
Solex’s land position at the Macusani East property is currently comprised of 26,160 ha. Upon closing of this agreement, Solex will acquire an additional 21,660 ha increasing the land position to a total of 47,820 ha. To date, some $11 million has been spent on the property, including drilling on five targets. More than 45 uranium anomalies still require additional exploration. In addition, Solex will conduct bulk sampling of material from Macusani East using its mobile leach test laboratory.
Under the terms of the Letter of Intent, Solex will:
- Issue a total of 11.8 million shares of Solex to Eldorado, increasing Eldorado’s interest in Solex to 19.9% on closing whereby making ldorado the largest shareholder in Solex
- Pay to Eldorado a total of C$2 million in two equal tranches within two & 24 months of closing. Under certain circumstances, each payment could be deferred for a further six months
- Pay a royalty to Eldorado on future uranium production from the Macusani East property of $0.50/lb on the first 20 MIb of uranium produced
- Become the sole operator of the property.
The completion of the transaction is subject to the execution of a definitive agreement, technical and legal due diligence, and satisfaction of all necessary regulatory conditions. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur within 60 days.
The Macusani East project contains 53 known uranium anomalies discovered in the 1970s by the Peruvian Institute of Nuclear Energy (IPEN) and consists of 72 concessions covering 47,820 ha. It is situated within the Province of Carabaya, Department of Puno, in south-eastern Peru, and lies within the relatively flat Altiplano of the eastern Cordillera. The area is about 650 km southeast of Lima. Access is by paved road on the Trans-Oceanic highway from the City of Juliaca to the town of Macusani (about 200 km). The Macusani East area is the most studied area in southern Peru by IPEN. After IPEN discovered the first 60 uranium showings in 1978, systematic radiometric prospecting and trenching were carried out over an area of around 600 km2, culminating in the discovery of numerous additional uranium showings.