Vancouver, British Columbia, February 4, 2014 (TSX Venture: EMX; NYSE MKT: EMXX) – Eurasian Minerals Inc. (the “Company” or “EMX”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of an uncapped 0.5% net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty covering Reservoir Minerals Inc.’s (“Reservoir” or “RMC”) share of minerals and metals mined from the “Brestovac” and “Jasikovo East” properties in Serbia. These properties occur in the Timok Magmatic Complex, and are included in the Timok Project joint venture between Reservoir (45%) and Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corp. (“Freeport”) (55%). The Brestovac property hosts porphyry and epithermal copper-gold mineralization at the Cukaru Peki discovery, and the Jasikovo East property occurs to the north in the Timok copper-gold belt. Reservoir recently announced an initial NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Cukaru Peki deposit. EMX congratulates Reservoir and Freeport on achieving this important milestone, as well as their continuing Timok Project exploration successes.
EMX’s royalty acquisition complements the Company’s existing royalty portfolio in Serbia, which includes the “Brestovac West” property located adjacent to Brestovac. Together, EMX’s Brestovac and Brestovac West royalty properties comprise RMC’s Brestovac-Metovnica exploration permit. EMX’s consolidation of the Brestovac, Brestovac West, and Jasikovo East Timok royalty properties strategically positions the Company to participate in ongoing discoveries in one of the richest copper-gold mineral belts in Europe.
EMX’s Timok Royalty Properties. The Brestovac and Jasikovo East (Durlan Potok) royalty was purchased from Euromax Resources Ltd. in 2013 for CAD $200,000. The 0.5% NSR royalty is proportionately reduced to RMC’s interest in the properties as Freeport earns-in by making exploration expenditures under the circumstances provided in the NSR agreement. The two royalty properties covered by the NSR agreement, along with the Company’s existing “Brestovac West” royalty property (2% NSR on gold and silver and 1% NSR on all other minerals), occur adjacent to and along trend from the world-class copper-gold mines of eastern Serbia’s Bor-Majdanpek mining complex.
Reservoir reported an initial resource estimate for the Cukaru Peki deposit’s High Sulphidation Epithermal (HSE) zone of copper-gold mineralization in a January 27, 2014 news release. According to Reservoir, the HSE inferred resource above a 1% copper equivalent (CuEq% = Cu% + (Au g/t x 0.6)) cut-off was estimated to be “65.3 million tonnes (Mt) at an average grade of 2.6% copper and 1.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, or 3.5% copper-equivalent, containing 1.7 million tonnes (3.8 billion pounds) copper and 3.1 million ounces gold or 2.3 million tonnes (5.1 billion pounds) copper-equivalent.” Reservoir stated that the underlying porphyry type mineralization had not been modeled or included in the resource estimate “due to the lack of drill data and geometrical understanding.”
RMC also commented on the project’s upside exploration potential: “The extent of the associated porphyry copper-gold mineralization has not been determined and remains an important target for further definition drilling. Reconnaissance drilling elsewhere in the Brestovac-Metovnica Exploration Permit continues to intersect alteration and mineralization that provides encouragement for further discovery within the permit area.” Reservoir remarked that the discovery at Cukaru Peki “demonstrates the potential for additional blind discoveries within the Timok Magmatic Complex.”
EMX’s Brestovac West royalty property is just 700 meters west of the Cukaru Peki discovery, and contains the Corridor Zone high-grade gold prospect and the Ogashu Kucajna epithermal gold occurrence. These targets illustrate the exploration potential described by Reservoir, and underscore the upside of EMX’s Timok Project royalty holdings. Brestovac West was conveyed by an earlier agreement between EMX and Reservoir (see EMX news release dated October 30, 2006).
Other EMX Royalty Portfolio Properties in Serbia. EMX also holds interests in the Deli Jovan, Plavkovo and Stara Planina royalty properties, sold to Reservoir in 2006 along with Brestovac West. As with Brestovac West, the terms of the sale for these other properties include uncapped NSR royalties payable to EMX at a rate of 2% for gold and silver, and 1% for all other metals.
- Deli Jovan is located in eastern Serbia, and covers an eight kilometer trend of shear-hosted mesothermal gold veins that include the historic Ginduša and Rusman gold mines. The property is in joint venture with AIM listed Orogen Gold Plc.
- Plavkovo occurs in southwest Serbia’s Vardar Zone of epithermal and porphyry copper mineralization, and hosts outcropping gold-copper mineralization within an 800 meter long, east-west trending zone.
- Stara Planina hosts auriferous polymetallic vein and intrusion-related gold-copper targets. There was minor historic production from this mineralization in the 20th century.