The agreement provides Montero six months to complete legal and technical due diligence to its satisfaction and is also subject to regulatory approval.
Under the terms of the binding agreement, Montero immediately earns a 51% interest in the Property by committing to define and complete a report prepared in compliance with NI 43-101 within 2 years with a minimum expenditure requirement of US$ 1.5 million. Montero may earn a further 29% interest by completing a Feasibility study within 3 years to a maximum expenditure of US$ 10 million.
Dr. Tony Harwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Montero commented, "The Moyale Graphite Project has seen limited mapping, sampling and trenching in addition to limited geophysical surveys with no drilling conducted to date. Montero intends to define a high quality large flake graphite resource in compliance with NI 43-101 whereby a long life mine plan is outlined. The graphite market is currently one of the most promising and forward looking sectors in the high technology mining industry. We look forward to working with our partner in developing the Project".
The Moyale Graphite Project (Moyale) is located in southern Ethiopia 5km to the west of the town of Moyale. It is located in the Oromia Region connected by an asphalt road to the capital, Addis Ababa.
Gold exploration of the Moyale area was undertaken in the 1980’s which led to the discovery of graphite in the 1990’s. Initial exploration by the Ethiopian Institute of Geological Survey (EIGS) included mapping, sampling and trenching of the area and completion of geophysical surveys. This work was further advanced by the Ethiopian – Norwegian co-operation program (ETHIONOR) where samples obtained from trenches from the Moyale Graphite Deposit underwent petrogaphic and beneficiation trials at the Norgewian Gelogical Survey (NGU) in Trondheim in the late 1990’s.
A Qualified Person is currently reviewing available reports on the Moyale Graphite Project as part of the due diligence and update will be provided once this is complete.
