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The Cloncurry Gold Project in north-west Queensland is now completely owned by AuKing Mining (ASX:AKN), after the microcap Australian explorer bought out the full-ownership share carried by Orion Resources (ASX:ORN) today.
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AuKing bought out Orion’s first half share for $5 million and will now pick up the second for scrip in a deal that’s been cooking for some time. The second bundle will see ORN holders walk away with $16.28M in AuKing shares. (The whole deal is, of course, still subject to shareholder approval and ASX confirmation.)
In return, AuKing will move into the Cloncurry work sites and get to work. Included in the binding agreement is the Lorena processing plant, a 280,000 tonne-per-annum facility valued at more than $30M. The plant, around 15 kilometres east of Cloncurry, “offers a low-capital restart pathway” for AuKing.
The wider 447 square kilometre Cloncurry project includes multiple assets as well, ranging from the “historically significant” Mt Freda producer to the Golden Mile complex and the Mt Scheelitle producer that boasts “exploration upside.”
There are also several regional prospects that have shown evidence of copper-gold and “IOCG-style” mineralisation, including Little Duke and Evening Star.
“This agreement… gives AuKing a clear pathway to complete the Cloncurry acquisition and unlock the full value of this asset portfolio in a strong gold market,” the company’s managing director, Paul Williams, said.
“We recognised that investors were uncertain about how AuKing’s previous 50% acquisition would work in terms of project management and funding. Moving to full ownership removes that complexity.
“This means we can focus entirely on development activities,” Mr Williams explained, “supported by Orion’s existing experienced team.”
“The AuKing board views this Cloncurry acquisition as a substantial opportunity to transition AuKing into a gold and copper developer and near-term producer while generating significant value for shareholders.”
So too the wider market: AKN has been up +14.29% on the news.
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