Business
Joint Venture of Artvin Project, Turkey
Joint Venture of Artvin Project, Turkey.
About this update from Kefi Gold And Copper Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n 23 October 2008\n\nAIM: KEFI\n\n KEFI Minerals Plc \n\n (\"KEFI Minerals\" or the \"Company\") \n\n Joint Venture of Artvin Project, Turkey \n\nKEFI Minerals, the AIM-quoted gold and copper exploration company,is pleased to\nannounce that it has entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (\"Joint Venture\nAgreement\") in respect of its 100%-owned Artvin Project (\"the Project\") with\nCenterra Gold (KB) Inc (\"Centerra\"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centerra Gold\nInc., a Canadian-based gold mining and exploration company which is listed on\nthe Toronto Stock Exchange. The Artvin project is a discovery that KEFI\nMinerals has made since its admission to AIM less than two years ago and is in\na prolific mining district in north-east Turkey.\n\nUnder the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement, the licences relating to the\nProject area are to be transferred to a new KEFI group subsidiary (\"JVCo\") and\nCenterra has the exclusive right to earn up to a 70% shareholding in this\nsubsidiary. In order to acquire the initial 50% shareholding in JVCo Centerra\nmust spend US$3.0 million over three years with a minimum expenditure of US$0.5\nmillion in the first year. Centerra may then elect to earn an additional 20%\nshareholding through the expenditure of a further US$3.0 million over the next\ntwo years. The joint venture is in respect of a one-kilometre area of interest\nwhich extends from the outer boundary of the Project area.\n\nKEFI Minerals will initially be the manager of the Project and Centerra has the\nright to become manager at any time. Once Centerra has earned its 50% or 70%\nshareholding in JVCo, KEFI and Centerra will fund their respective percentage\ninterests of future expenditure subject to dilution for non-participation in\nsuch expenditure. If either party's interest is diluted to less than 10%, that\nparty's interest will automatically be converted to a 3% net smelter return\nroyalty, in which case the other party has the right to purchase half of the\nroyalty (1.5%) for US$1.5 million.\n\nThe Joint Venture Agreement contains certain warranties given by KEFI and its\ngroup companies in respect of the Project and while KEFI is the Manager of the\nProject and majority shareholder in the JVCo any advances made by Centerra\nwhich are not expended on the Project are repayable in certain circumstances.\nThe Joint Ventu...