Minotaur Exploration (ASX: MEP) and Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) agreed to assign full ownership, to Minotaur, of the Altia polymetallic deposit near Cloncurry, Queensland.

Currently, Altia is held in joint venture SFR/MEP in the proportions 60/40.

Additionally, Minotaur is to purchase 100% interest in Sandfire's Breena Plains tenements proximal to Altia plus Sandfire's Cannington tenements near Cannington Ag-Pb-Zn mine. The Breena Plains tenements are the subject of an option earn-in arrangement between SFR and OZ Minerals-Minotaur. Work under the option minimum expenditure commitment, being funded by OZ Minerals, is due to complete at the end of August 2021.

Purchase Rationale

The transaction will result in Altia becoming 100% owned by Minotaur. Altia is a significant base metals resource1 sited 4km south-west of the operating Eloise copper-gold mine. The Altia Inferred resource inventory is 5.8Mt @ 4% Pb, 0.5% Zn and 40g/t Ag within granted mineral development licences (MDL's). Minotaur considers Altia a strategic asset, well located 3km west of the Jericho copper-gold project (a joint venture between OZL/MEP in the proportions 80/20). Sandfire's extant tenement group surrounding Altia supplements the purchase. Geology of the area hosts multiple base metal mineralisation styles in both outcropping and under-cover terrain.

The tenement group surrounding the giant Cannington Ag-Pb-Zn deposit and similar smaller, but significant, mineral systems at Pegmont, Cowie and Marramungie, provide local opportunities for base metals discoveries. Minotaur's experience across the Cloncurry region since mid-2000 suggests discovery potential remains strong across the collective group of tenements being acquired. Minotaur is actively assessing other avenues to solidify its presence in the Altia locality. Acquisition of Sandfire's wider tenure delivers a 2,100km2 footprint for a modest $3 million investment in cash and shares.

Altia Lead-Silver Deposit

The Altia deposit is one of a group of Cannington-style lead-silver-zinc deposits in the district, including the world-class Cannington mine and Maronan, Pegmont, Cowie and Marramungie deposits. Pegmont and Maronan have published JORC resources. Altia lies within MDL432 and part of MDL431, covering 46.5km2. The Altia mineral system has 1.2km of strike and extends to vertical depth of 800m. The published resource covers around 550m of strike where most is constrained to 200m vertical interval below top of basement.

Mineralisation occurs within several parallel banded iron formations (BIF's) with Lens 1 (upper) and Lens 2 (lower) hosting most of the deposit. A JORC 2004 initial resource estimate was published in July 2007 by Breakaway Resources Ltd and restated in July 2013 under the Breakaway-Sandfire Altia JV. Sandfire completed 5,500m of drilling in and around the deposit (2012 and 2014) and conducted conceptual mining studies, achieving 60% beneficial interest in the project. Ultimately, Sandfire concluded the project does not align with its corporate objectives.

Management Comment

Minotaur's managing director, Andrew Woskett, said 'Minotaur continues to hold a strong view that the geology around the Altia and Jericho deposits offers discovery potential, especially where basement is obscured by younger cover. Bringing 100% of Altia into Minotaur's portfolio contributes a drill defined resource, which Minotaur may seek to improve, to the portfolio.

Contact:

Tel: (61 8) 8111 4000

(C) 2021 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire