Firestrike Resources has entered an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Escalante Star’s Elephant Canton copper, silver, gold and polymetallic porphyry project in Utah.

Elephant Canyon is located south of Rio Tinto’s Bingham Canyon mine, in a similar geological setting.

Bingham Canyon is one of the largest copper mines in the world, generating more than 300,000 tonnes of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold each year.

At Elephant Canyon, historical workings, shafts and production dating from the 1870’s through to the 1960’s indicate the presence of potentially extensive mineralisation.

Escalante Star has been carrying out geological mapping and sampling of the workings since 2008, with the project now requiring drilling.

Importantly, the project is located close to major infrastructure, including railroad, highway and power, and is 200 kilometres south of Utah capital Salt Lake City.

Under the Letter of Intent signed with Escalante, Firestrike can acquire up to 80% of equity in the project through the completion of set milestones.

These terms include an initial minimum expenditure on the project of USD 2 million and the completion of a JORC resource.

Technical expertise will be provided on location by Escalante Star, which has geologists and land managers based in the area with knowledge of exploration and development in the region.

Firestrike will also award Escalante Star up to 5 million shares based on the project meeting these milestones.

An initial 1 million shares will be awarded on signing a formal joint venture agreement, while the rest will be issued in stages.

(Sourced from www.proactiveinvestors.com.au)