Source : THE AGE NEWS
Multi-commodity explorer Critical Resources has further cemented its push into the South American nation of Suriname, grabbing a second prospective gold project within a matter of days in the tiny, gold-rich country.
The company pounced on the opportunity to secure a 90 per cent stake in the Greenstars gold project and its Saramacca satellite deposit from a private Surinamese company. The prospect comes with a granted gold exploitation mining right across a parcel of ground totalling 35 square kilometres in the Para District of Suriname.
It follows hot on the heels of Critical’s entry into the country’s emerging gold space mid-last week, when it snapped up the exclusive right to similarly acquire a 90 per cent stake in the Gonini gold project.
Both Greenstars and Gonini sit near Chinese global gold giant Zijin Mining’s Rosebel gold project, responsible for producing close to six million ounces of the gleaming yellow metal since 2004.
The projects lie 35 kilometres and 88 kilometres from Zijin’s operation and within 100 kms of gold behemoth Newmont Corporation’s Merian gold mine, which holds a near-four-million-ounce gold resource.
Critical’s strategic move into Suriname, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the north and Brazil to its south, provides first-mover advantages for the ASX-listed junior, establishing a foothold in the prospective Guiana Shield gold province.
‘Greenstars is the second step in building our Suriname portfolio…’
Critical Resources managing director Tim Withers
Subject to completing both proposed acquisitions, Critical will hold a 90 per cent interest in 199 square kilometres of granted gold mining rights and become the only company listed on the local bourse to hold rights to granted gold tenure in the promising precious metals region.
Critical has secured a 60-day exclusivity period with a US$10,000 (A$14,250) non-refundable payment and a further US$30,000 signing payment upon execution of the formal agreement. The Greenstars exploitation right, which permits exploration, mining, processing and the sale of gold, was granted in 2022. Renewal of the right, current until May 2027, will be a condition of completion.
A completion payment, upon satisfaction of all relevant conditions, comprises US$170,000 cash and 2.5 million company shares. Deferred consideration includes US$200,000 in year two and US$350,000 in year three.
Critical Resources managing director Tim Withers said: “Greenstars is the second step in building our Suriname portfolio, and it follows directly from our strategy to build a portfolio of gold projects. Greenstars is a granted mining right in an under-explored part of the greenstone belt that hosts Zijin’s Rosebel mine and its Saramacca satellite operations.”
Critical says small-scale artisanal miners are currently working alluvial gold within the project area and plans to begin fieldwork shortly, with a site visit and verification sampling during the exclusivity period. When project completion occurs, it also intends to conduct a first-pass auger geochemistry program across the granted right.
The company says its strategy is to develop a portfolio of gold projects in the underexplored Suriname greenstone belt which can be acquired on favourable staged terms and explored at low cost. It is continuing to review further opportunities within Suriname and the wider Guiana Shield region.
Greenstars is positioned in the Para District of northern Suriname and lies within the greenstone terrane of the Guiana Shield, host to the nation’s major gold operations. Across the greenstone belt, primary gold mineralisation is typically orogenic and associated with quartz veining, granitoid margins and shear zones. A deep tropical weathering profile has generated secondary gold workings currently offering opportunities for enthusiastic artisanal miners.
Critical is adding the potential for South American gold to its arsenal of critical metals, headlined by the company’s eight-million-tonne Mavis Lake lithium resource in Canada. Its portfolio also includes gold, antimony and tungsten over 1694 square kilometres of promising ground across the ditch in New Zealand’s South Island.
Additionally, the company holds the Halls Peak polymetallic project in New South Wales featuring an inferred resource of 840,000 tonnes at 3.7 per cent zinc, 1.5 per cent lead and 0.44 per cent copper.
Critical’s plan to explore South American ground known for its rich supply of gold, at a time of sustained high gold prices bringing US$4215 (A$6005) per ounce, could add another winner to the company’s suite of promising metal projects.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
