Rox Resources has welcomed highly regarded New York-based asset manager Hawke’s Point onto its register, raising $11 million in the process.  

Hawke’s Point will subscribe for $11 million in new, fully paid ordinary shares in Rox (ASX:RXL) with one free attaching option for every two shares subscribed.

The holding will give it a 13% stake in Rox and comes after an extensive period of due diligence on the Youanmi gold project.

Rox owns a 70% interest in the flagship Youanmi gold mine in a joint venture with Venus Metals Corporation. Youanmi has a mineral resource estimate of 12.4 million tonnes at 2.97 grams per tonne gold for 1,190,600 ounces of gold, including a ‘near-surface’ portion of 10Mt at 1.65g/t gold for 532,000 ounces. The project is not currently producing.

Rox’s strategy is to acquire and explore Youanmi with a forward-looking objective of bringing it into production. Hawke’s Point’s investment is expected to underpin exploration and development plans over the next 18 months.

Rox managing director Alex Passmore said the backing of Hawke’s Point highlighted the potential on the ground at Youanmi.

“The investment by Hawke’s Point is just its third in Australia and demonstrates confidence in the Rox team and the Youanmi gold project,” he said.

“Hawke’s Point and Rox share a common exploration and development philosophy for Youanmi which we look forward to progressing rapidly from here.”

Plans for Youanmi over the next 18 months include additional drilling in near-mine and resource extension areas, as well as a review of the existing mineral resource assets within the project area as part of a transition to mining.

This will include metallurgical, hydrogeological, geotechnical and environmental studies to underpin an updated and optimised development plan.

“Youanmi shows strong potential to be a high-grade, high-return gold operation,” the company said in a release to market today.

“Rox’s work programs for the coming six-to-nine months are focused on delivering these studies with the primary aim of adding substantial value to the existing Youanmi project assets, in parallel to ongoing exploration.”

The historical Youanmi mine has produced about 667,000oz of gold at an average grade of 5.47 grams per tonne since discovery in 1901 during three main periods: 1908 to 1921, 1937 to 1942, and 1987 to 1997.

Metallurgical work carried out in February on new mineralisation from the Grace deposit, following on from encouraging gold hits in January, suggests there’s much more to the project than its history would suggest.

Rox also owns the Fisher East and Collurabbie nickel projects in WA, and is exploring its options to fully realise their market value.


This article was developed in collaboration with Rox Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

 

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