29 February 2024
East Star Resources
Plc
("East Star" or the
"Company")
Sediment-Hosted Copper
Exploration JV
&
Appointment of Technical
Director
East Star Resources Plc (LSE:EST),
the Kazakhstan focused copper exploration and resource development
company, is pleased to announce it has entered into a joint venture
agreement with Getech Group Plc (AIM: GTC) ("Getech"), a
world-leading locator of subsurface resources, to explore for
sediment-hosted copper deposits in Kazakhstan. The JV will be
conducted through a wholly owned East Star subsidiary established
specifically for this purpose (the "JV Company").
JV
with Getech
Pursuant to the Agreement, Getech
will deploy its unique data set, geoscience
expertise, AI-driven analytics, and extensive GIS capabilities, to
carry out initial targeting in return for an option to obtain 5% of the JV company upon the granting of an
exploration licence within the outlined area of interest.
East Star will provide on-the-ground logistics and
project management including licence procurement, as well as
geological expertise led by East Star director, Chris van
Wijk.
Next Steps
Getech and East Star are conducting
a targeting exercise over basins prospective for sediment-hosted
copper in Kazakhstan using their combined geological data, advanced
algorithms, and expertise. The JV aims to complete this exercise in
time for the start of the field season in Kazakhstan around April
2024 at which time field evaluations of the most prospective areas
identified will commence. Pending the results of field visits, East
Star aims to acquire additional licences prospective for
sediment-hosted copper in the forthcoming season.
Appointment of Technical Director
East Star is delighted that Chris
van Wijk, who joined East Star's board as a non-executive director
last month, has agreed to become Technical Director. Mr van Wijk's
extensive geological expertise, including a role as the
Principal Geologist, Business Development and Exploration of
Fortescue Metals Group with a focus on copper and gold porphyries
in South America. Prior to this, van Wijk
was the Principal Geologist in charge of sediment-hosted copper
exploration for First Quantum Minerals where he developed the
targeting strategy for this style of deposit and led a highly
skilled team responsible for evaluating sediment-hosted copper
projects in Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Australia.
Alex Walker, East Star CEO, commented:
"Sediment-hosted copper deposits account for around 20% of
global copper production. These types of discoveries have the
potential to become Tier-1 deposits which are sought after by
global mining majors. At no upfront cost to East Star, this
play-type adds a potential third strand to East Star's copper
strategy, which includes more advanced VMS exploration and a
BHP-backed porphyry exploration programme. We look forward to
working with Getech to apply their unparallelled database and
modern geoscientific expertise to underexplored basins in
Kazakhstan.
Further, Chis van Wijk
taking on an
executive role brings outstanding geological pedigree, particularly
with regard to sediment-hosted copper and porphyry exploration
which, when paired with East Star's proven ability to efficiently
and effectively execute exploration in Kazakhstan, will take the
Company to the next level."
Richard Bennett, Getech CEO, commented:
"This collaboration presents us with significant upside
potential and minimal risks. In the event of a successful
exploration campaign, we obtain a 5% stake in one or more mining
assets. The option has transformative value creation potential,
which we can monetise at various stages. This is therefore an
exciting opportunity for Getech, and we are progressing other
similar transactions where we are looking to leverage our data and
expertise to secure asset participation in promising
locations."
East Star
Resources Plc
Alex Walker, Chief Executive
Officer
Tel: +44 (0)20 7390 0234 (via Vigo
Consulting)
SI
Capital (Corporate Broker)
Nick Emerson
Tel: +44 (0)1483 413 500
Peterhouse Capital Limited (Corporate Broker)
Peter Greensmith
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930
Vigo
Consulting (Investor Relations)
Ben Simons / Peter Jacob
Tel: +44 (0)20 7390 0234
About East
Star Resources Plc
East Star Resources is focused on the discovery
and development of copper resources in Kazakhstan. With eight
licences covering 1,190.3 km² in three mineral rich districts of
Kazakhstan, East Star is undertaking exploration programmes,
applying modern geophysics to discover minerals in levels that were
not previously explored. East Star's most advanced project is a
copper deposit on the world-class Rudny Altai VMS Belt where the
Company is working towards the delivery of a JORC compliant open
pit copper resource close to infrastructure, within trucking
distance of third-party mills with excess capacity. East Star's
management are based permanently on the ground, supported by local
expertise, a joint venture with the state mining company on certain
projects, and grant funding from BHP through the BHP Xplor
programme for copper porphyry exploration.
Visit our
website:
www.eaststarplc.com
Follow us on
social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/east-star-resources/
X (formerly
Twitter): https://twitter.com/EastStar_PLC
Subscribe to
our email alert service to be notified whenever East Star releases
news:
www.eaststarplc.com/newsalerts
About Getech
Getech is a leading locator
of the energy and mineral resources essential for the world's
energy transition. Getech's unique data encompassing the most
recent 400 million years of Earth's evolution, coupled with its
geoscience expertise, AI-driven analytics and extensive GIS
capabilities, enables Getech to provide valuable and actionable
insights to support resource discovery and development.
Getech's client portfolio is
wide-ranging, from governments, municipalities, natural resources
and energy companies to consumer goods and computing services
companies, all striving to become energy and minerals
self-sufficient and drive towards net zero.
Founded in 1994 Getech is listed on
the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock
Exchange ("AIM"), with ticker symbol
GTC.
The person who
arranged for the release of this announcement was Alex Walker, CEO
of the Company.
This announcement contains inside information
for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 2014/596/EU which is
part of domestic UK law pursuant to the Market Abuse (Amendment)
(EU Exit) Regulations (SI 2019/310) ("UK MAR"). Upon the
publication of this announcement, this inside information (as
defined in UK MAR) is now considered to be in the public
domain.