Auris Minerals (ASX: AUR) has now earned 70 per cent of its joint venture at Cheroona with Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) and shares are up 27 per cent this morning.

The deal for the West Australian copper and gold project was signed in 2013 and at the time Northern Star declared it would earn it after spending $800,000.

Auris now reached that milestone and as promised it owns the majority of the project.

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The project comprises of five tenements, three of which are 100 per cent owned by Auris and the remainder are now 70-30 owned.

Pic: Auris Minerals

This news has sparked the share price up 27 per cent this morning.

While the company had declined substantially in previous months, other tenements the company holds have achieved positive results. At the Forrest Prospect, one intercept included 9.65 metres at 5 per cent copper.

It also cannot hurt to be working with the company (Northern Star) that has made the greatest 10-year gain.

In other ASX small cap base metals news today…

Adriatic Metals (ASX: ADT) has delivered its maiden zinc resource for its Bosnian project which suggests 9.4 million tonnes, of which 5.1 per cent is zinc. Previous drilling results have similarly suggested the presence of zinc as well as gold and copper. Adriatic director Paul Cronin declared: “We now have substantial resource inventory for use in initial scoping studies.”

Corazon Mining (ASX: CZN) has uncovered more copper-cobalt targets at its Mt Gilmore project. A ground IP survey has revealed soil anomalies with characteristics similar to concealed bodies with copper, cobalt and gold. Previous rock chip assays have returned 16.3 per cent copper and 1,250 parts per million of cobalt. The company expects to complete the survey at the end of the month and is preparing applications for drilling approvals. It argued the results “reinforce this target area’s strong prospectivity”.

Northern NSW tin-focused miner Sky Metals (ASX: SKY) has provided shareholders with a drilling update. It has now drilled seven holes totalling 1,197 metres and  assay results will be revealed in four weeks. CEO Peter Duerden said SKY is “excited to be underway and drilling at Tallebung with rapid progression of the maiden programme. Visual results to date are encouraging, validating the targeting strategy and we look forward to reporting assay results as they become available.”

Riedel Resource (ASX: RIE) has withdrawn from its cobalt-copper-nickel project in Spain following a project review. The company has not provided details on its project review but noted it retained its projects in Western Australia and was “in advanced discussions” in regard to new opportunities.