Rio enters JV option with Valor
BY ELIZABETH FABRI RIO Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Exploration (KEX) has inked a Joint Venture option deal with ASX-listed Valor Resources over its Berenguela copper-silver-manganese project in south-eastern Peru. Initial terms of the agreement included a payment of $US700,000 before February 2019, and further $US2million spend on exploration over the next 12 months. At the completion of initial expenditure, Kennecott would be entitled to form a 50:50 incorporated joint venture by paying an additional $US3million to Valor, and increase its stake to 75 per cent by spending an additional $US5million within three years. Valor Resources executive director Nicholas Lindsay said bringing Kennecott in as a partner to the project was a significant and exciting step forward in its development, and endorsed…