PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Metal Bank has been granted exclusive copper exploration rights and reconnaissance rights in Jordan, furthering the company’s strategy of pursuing base metal opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa.

The company on Wednesday said it had entered into two agreements with the government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, providing Metal Bank with first-mover advantage in Jordan, where very limited base and precious metal exploration has been conducted in recent decades.

The agreements include the Malaqa Exploration agreement for copper exploration within the Um el Amad historical mining area, and a regional reconnaissance agreement for inspection, assessment and studies for copper resources within the highly prospective Wadi Araba area in Jordan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

“The Malaqa region provides Metal Bank with immediate upside with copper resource potential centred on the historic Um el Amad mine; one of the most significant sources of copper in the Roman empire, which has never been subject to modern, systematic exploration,” said Metal Bank chairperson Inés Scotland.

“Equally exciting is the opportunity to investigate and explore the Proterozoic basement rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) which outcrop in the Wadi Araba area in southern Jordan. The ANS hosts some world-class deposits such as Jabal Sayid in Saudi Arabia, that we have significant experience with from our time in Saudi. While Metal Bank is the sole signatory to the agreements, we will be partnering in Jordan with our previous Saudi Arabian joint venture partner, who has significant business interests in Jordan.”

The Malaqa exploration agreement has been granted for an initial two-year period, while the reconnaissance agreement will also span an initial two years

Initial fieldwork in Joran is planned to start this quarter with a focus on mapping and sampling in priority areas in and around the historical Um el Amad copper mine.