JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed exploration and development company Stratex International on Wednesday announced that it would participate in an C$8.66-million strategic financing agreement for TSX-V-listed Tembo Gold Corporation to allow it to continue with the exploration and evaluation of its Tembo gold property in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria gold belt.
Stratex would participate in the placement as part of an investor group, which also included the New Africa Mining Fund 2 and Concept Capital Management.
Tembo management would be realigned with the investor group, providing three out of the company’s five directors, which would include Stratex CEO Bob Foster.
Stratex would invest up to C$1.66-million in the placement for an initial holding of 10.3% of Tembo, which could increase to 18.7% on exercise of warrants, the company stated, adding that, through a voting pool arrangement, the investor group could control up to 60.5% of Tembo on a fully diluted basis.
Stratex chairperson Christopher Hall said Tembo had built on extensive historic work and artisanal activity with encouraging results from more than 35 000 m of drilling on half a dozen targets; however, it had yet to report a resource.
“Stratex and its partners believe they can guide, support and provide the finance for management to focus on priority targets, with infill and step-out drilling, before moving to resource estimation. In line with our restated strategy, we see Tembo as a ‘tipping point’ opportunity, where tightly focused exploration can accelerate the exploration process,” he said.
Hall added that negotiating and structuring the transaction had been a protracted process and that there were still some hurdles to overcome.
“However, there has been an immense amount of goodwill on all sides as the financing is clearly in the interests of Tembo and all its stakeholders," he concluded.