- Junior explorer Battery Minerals (BAT) is set to snap up full control of Gippsland Prospecting, which owns a copper-gold project in Victoria
- The buyout was announced in March but was subject to Gippsland being granted an important exploration licence in western Victoria
- Today, Battery Minerals said the exploration licence has been granted, so it will now move ahead with the buy
- The company will pay a total of $500,000 and issue Gippsland shareholders over 439 million BAT shares for the buy
- The new project, which is at the forefront of the deal, is near Stavely Minerals (SVY) Thursday’s Gossan project
- Shares in Battery Minerals are trading 57.14 per cent higher at midday and currently worth 2.2 cents each
Battery Minerals (BAT) is set to snap up full control of Gippsland Prospecting, which owns a copper-gold project in Victoria.
Battery will be moving forward with the purchase on the back of the news that Gippsland has been granted an important exploration licence in western Victoria.
Battery first announced the Gippsland purchase in early March, when it revealed it would be buying 67 per cent of the prospector by paying $335,000 and issuing the company’s owners 294 million BAT shares.
Then, two weeks later, Battery revealed it locked in a deal with Gippsland shareholders to up its purchase to 100 per cent for a total $500,000 and 439 million shares.
A key condition of the sale, however, was based on Gippsland being granted an exploration licence dubbed E6781.
Today, Battery Minerals said the exploration licence has finally been granted and it will now move forward with the full Gippsland buyout.
Gippsland’s project
The 809-square-kilometre exploration licence covers over 40 kilometres of strike in the Mount Stavely Volcanics area and 40 kilometres of strike in the adjacent Stawell Gold Corridor.
Importantly, the project is next door to fellow ASX-listed Stavely Minerals’ (SVY) Thursday’s Gossan copper-gold project.
Battery Minerals Chairman David Flanagan spoke highly of the new project.
“This acquisition delivers the Company gold prospects including high-grade intercepts in historical drilling, untested workings and surface soil and rock sampling not far from the highly profitable Stawell mining operation,” David said.
“We also have a volcanic belt which is almost untouched by modern exploration that has delivered outstanding copper, nickel and gold exploration success on the adjoining tenements,” he said.
Battery said it has a field crew ready to start work on the ground the moment the purchase and relevant regulatory approvals have gone through. The company expects the buyout to be completed within five business days.
Shares in Battery Minerals are trading 57.14 per cent higher at 12:06 pm AEDT and currently worth 2.2 cents each. The company has a $27.68 million market cap.