Cresset Precious Metals, Inc. (CSPM) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cresset International Limited, a Delaware corporation, had on April 21, 2002 executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lakefield Oretest Pty Limited, an Australian corporation, on the joint cooperation for the development of the Umm Tundub mine in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.
Previously, CSPM announced that on December 25, 2001, the Egyptian Government as represented by the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority (EGSMA) has accepted and approved the project's feasibility study submitted by Cresset and confirmed that the project is considered a "Commercial Discovery" worthy of commercial development under the terms and conditions of the concession agreement.
Consequently and in accordance with the terms of the concession agreement, an operating company was incorporated on March 25, 2002, as a joint stock company with equal participation by EGSMA and Cresset under the name of Hamash Egypt Gold Mines company.
Under the MoU, the cooperation for the development of the Umm Tundub mine and other areas within Cresset's concession will be carried out in phases. The first phase is to include, inter alia, ore and process testing; reserve calculations and mine design; and, the design and procurement of equipment, supervision of plant construction and the commissioning of a mobile experimental production unit.
CSPM, based in San Diego, California, is engaged in gold development and production in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Such endeavors began in 1999, when CSPM's wholly owned subsidiary Cresset International Limited entered into an exclusive concession agreement with the Government of Egypt and the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority for the exploration and production of gold and associated minerals in various locations in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.
Under the agreement, Cresset was awarded the exclusive rights for thirty years to the commercial production of gold and associated minerals in eight localities in the Eastern Desert encompassing a total area of 3,618 Square kilometers. Cresset is focused solely on developing opportunities in selected Middle Eastern countries, and believes that it is positioned to capitalize on the higher product prices and the emerging importance of the region to world mining markets, according to a company press release. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
