BENZ Mining jumps +17% as it snatches up WA gold projects from Spartan Res

BENZ Mining (ASX:BNZ) has jumped just over +17% in the second hour of trades as the company buys WA gold projects off Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR).

Benz is to snatch up the Glenburgh and Mt Egerton gold projects from Spartan; in exchange, Spartan will become a 15% shareholder in Benz. The company described both assets as being underexplored by modern drilling.

This now gives Benz a project in Canada – Eastmain – and a key asset in WA, Glenburgh.

The mineral estimate for Glenburgh sits at 16.3Mt of ore at 1g/t gold for 510Koz of gold within 786sq.km – much of which is “largely untested.”

Glenburgh appears to be on Benz’s radar for what could lie deeper underneath, yet untapped.

“While previous exploration efforts at Glenburgh focused on shallow lower-grade open pit resources, Benz will focus on the vast underexplored high-grade potential,” the company wrote.

Mt Egerton, meanwhile, “includes the high grade Hibernian Underground mine.” Benz flagged previous drill hits from on-site including a 5m section at 96.7g/t gold.

Follow up activities at Mt Egerton will be “immediate,” Benz wrote on Wednesday.

All in all, the acquisitions – part funded by cash, part funded by a $4M placement – complement Benz’s existing Eastmain mineral resource that posits 5.1Mt of ore at 6.1g/t gold for just over 1Moz of gold.

“At Glenburgh, with its historical Mineral Resource of 16.3Mt at 1g/t Au for 510,100 ounces of contained gold, we see substantial untapped potential. Our focus will be on the high-grade zones that remain underexplored,” Benz EC Evan Cranston said.

“Mt Egerton, which includes the high-grade Hibernian Underground Mine, adds significant opportunity for rapid high grade resource growth through targeted exploration.”

BNZ last traded at 30.5cps.

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