MINERAL development company ERO Mining plans to raise $1.8 million through a rights issue to fund exploration and development at its Peeweena Dam prospect in South Australia’s Billa Kalina area. The pro rata one-for-one non-renounceable rights issue will attempt to raise the funds through the issue of about 360 million new fully paid ordinary shares in ERO, issued at a cost of $0.05 per share. Acting ERO chief executive officer Kevin Lines said the initial market reaction to the rights issue had been positive. Exploration will include geophysical surveys and subsequent
drilling programs at Peeweena Dam – a joint venture between ERO and Maximus Resources 70km north-north-west of the Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium mine and 45km east of the Prominent Hill mine.
A detailed gravity survey and drill testing of the Peeweena Dam gravity anomaly, targeting iron oxide, copper, gold, uranium mineralisation, will also be completed once a Deed of Access is finalised.
Mr Lines said the Billa Kalina region held some of the best untested gravity anomalies in Australia, and ERO had waited a long time to begin exploration.
“The focus is to confirm the gravity anomaly on the current data and use that information to target the drilling,” he said.
The funds from the rights issue will also be used to advance ERO’s portfolio of gold and uranium exploration licences and licence applications in the Tanami region of the Northern Territory.
Tanami, Australia’s premier proterozoic gold province, is capable of hosting multimillion-ounce gold deposits, and is a key exploration area that offers high potential for further discoveries.
Geochemical surveys undertaken by ERO in 2011 resulted in the discovery of significant arsenic anomalies, indicating potential for associated gold mineralisation. Mr Lines said that the anomalies required follow-up exploration, in conjunction with further ground-based exploration of ERO’s Suplejack and Talbot North project areas.
“We’ve been developing the Tanami portfolio for a number of years and we’ve now got the ground available for on-ground exploration,” Mr Lines said.

 

By Helena Bogle

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