Arras Minerals Corp. [TSXV-ARK] said it has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX-TECK.B, TSX-TECK.A, NYSE-TECK) that will focus on exploration for critical minerals in Kazakhstan.
Arras shares advanced on the news, rising 13.3% or $0.03 to 25.5 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 70 cents and 12 cents.
The strategic alliance with Vancouver-based Teck, which already holds a 9.9% stake in Arras, does not include the Beskauga copper-gold project, Arras said in a press release.
“As an early mover in Kazakhstan two and a half years ago, following the substantial reforms to the business environment and mining law, Arras has assembled the third largest land package in the country next to Rio Tinto Group [RIO-NYSE] and Fortescue and is specifically focused on copper in the highly prospective Bozshakol-Chingiz magmatic arc,’’ said Arras CEO Tim Barry.
“We recently completed our second summer field season across the regional land package and are now analyzing more than 50,000 soil samples we have collected across the approximately 3,300 square kilometre license package,’’ he said. “This program was based on the successful 2022 field program where more than 16,000 soil samples identified new targets to follow up.’’
Under the agreement, Teck will fund generative exploration work through 2023 with initial expenditures of US$5 million before December 31, 2025 across Package A and Package B, an area covering 1,736 kilometres. Following the initial generative exploration phase, Teck has the option to select up to four designated properties, covering 120 square kilometres each where Teck will fund exploration expenses of up to US$47.5 million per project enabling the major to earn up to a 75% stake in each project.
Back in December, 2022, Arras completed a non-brokered private placement that raised $7.2 million for advanced exploration at the company’s projects in Northeastern Kazakhstan. The company sold 15.9 million shares at 45 cents per share. Teck agreed to subscribe for 5.8 million shares (amounting to $2.6 million) for a 9.9% stake in the company.
Arras said the financing would provide the necessary capital to continue to advance the company’s exploration activities at the Beskauga project in Kazakhstan. At that time, Arras said Beskauga is a gold-copper-silver deposit with an indicated resource of 111.2 million tonnes of grade 0.49 g/t gold, 0.30% copper, and 1.3 g/t silver containing 1.75 million ounces of gold, 333,600 tonnes of contained copper and 4.79 million ounces of silver.
On top of that is an inferred resource of 92.6 million tonnes of grade 0.50 g/t gold, 0.24% copper and 1.1 g/t silver containing 1.49 million ounces of gold, 222,200 tonnes of copper and 3.39 million ounces of silver.
Arras said it has an option to purchase agreement in place on the Beskauga project with CopperBelt AG, a private mineral exploration company registered in Zug, Switzerland.
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