Australian company Conto Resources, has announced a transaction with DatelineResources which owns a company involved in exploring for copper and zinc on land in Vanua Levu.
Dateline Resources owns Matai Holdings Fiji Limited which has been exploring on leases at Udu Point since 1996.
Contos’ announcement says that the transaction could lead to Conto acquiring Dateline
.
If this happens, Conto will issue new shares to Dateline shareholders, so that Dateline shareholders will own 50% of the larger company.
The Conto announcement also says the transaction will provide more than A$3.4 million in cash to Dateline.
Dateline intends to use these funds to complete its current 2012 drilling program and to carry out an accelerated drilling and exploration programme at Udu Point during 2013.
The Chairman of Dateline , Mark Johnson, said he was extremely pleased with the transaction. Dateline will be spending around F$6 million on exploration and drilling during this year and in 2013.
He said this is a big vote of confidence in the attractions of the project at Udu Point and a big vote of confidence in Fiji, as a country with a good mining regime, and a good place to do business.
Johnson added that Conto has good technical abilities so that, if the exploration is successful, the larger merged companies should be able to move rapidly towards development.
