Alta Zinc Ltd (ASX:AZI) has entered into an agreement to sell the Paterson Project in Western Australia held by wholly-owned subsidiary Nickelex Pty Ltd to AIM-listed Wishbone Gold PLC (LON:WSBN).
Under the agreement, Alta will be issued 600,000 fully paid ordinary shares in Wishbone and be entitled to receive a 1% net smelter royalty from Wishbone on all minerals mined and sold from the tenement.
“Excellent outcome”
Alta managing director Geraint Harris said: “This is an excellent outcome for Alta as our key focus is firmly on our Italian projects, namely our flagship Gorno Zinc Project and the Punta Corna Cobalt Project.
“We have now divested all of our Australian-based exploration assets so that our management time and expenditure can be directed exclusively on these priorities.
“The Paterson Project can now have the focus it deserves from Wishbone Gold while Alta shareholders retain upside exposure through the equity capital in Wishbone and also the royalty.”
Thick, high-grade zinc-lead extensions
The company recently undertook a step-out drilling program at the Gorno Zinc Project in Italy which returned high-grade zinc and lead with silver - extending known mineralisation in the east and west of this new target zone.
One step-out hole intersected thick high-grade mineralisation, making an 80-metre extension southeast of the newly discovered Pian Bracca South zone.
This hole returned 10 metres at 8.8% zinc and 4.2% lead (12.9% zinc and lead) and 53 g/t silver from 32.4 metres, including 3.8 metres at 21.5% zinc and 10.8% lead (32.2% zinc and lead) and 135 g/t silver from 36.1 metres.
In addition, another hole intersected two intervals of mineralisation, including 5.1 metres at 11.8% zinc and 4.9% lead (16.7% zinc and lead) and 34 g/t silver from 105.5 metres.
Harris said at the time: “The significant broadening of our exploration footprint highlights the many prospective new target areas which can immediately add to the current Zorzone mineral resource estimate and also those that are yet to be uncovered within the Gorno Zinc District.”