Australasia Gold has concluded an agreement for the acquisition of the Murninnie Mine (copper, bismuth, gold) and highly prospective surrounding land located between Whyalla and Cowell on eastern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

The area is located in the southern part of the "Olympic Domain" – the geological province containing the Prominent Hill, Olympic Dam (Roxby Downs), Carrapateena iron-oxide-coppergold (IOCG) deposits and the Moonta-Wallaroo copper deposits.

The Murninnie private mine has been owned and prospected by the vendors' family since 1929 but has never been subjected to detailed modern exploration or drilling.

Australasia Gold is making immediate preparations for the early commencement of exploration of this highly encouraging prospect including systematic geological prospecting and rock sampling, extension of the previous soil geochemical survey, detailed gravity and magnetic surveys and drilling.

The Murninnie Mine workings extend to 50m depth below surface. The mineralised lode is exposed over more than 400m strike length in the walls of a steep gully incised into the escarpment at the margin of an otherwise flat plateau terrain.

Prospecting by the owners has discovered occurrences of secondary and sulphide copper, some with associated gold mineralisation, over more than 4 kilometres of strike. The mine is officially reported to have produced between 1,000 and 2,000 tonnes of secondary or oxidized copper ore, some of it also rich in bismuth, between 1862 and 1910. Records describe ore parcels typically grading around 10% copper, with up to 5% bismuth, noting accompanying values of silver and cobalt.

The acquisition agreement covers Exploration Licence 3542 and Private Mine 156, totalling approximately 67sqkm. The main terms of the agreement provide for the immediate acquisition by Australasia Gold of a 45% interest in the above tenements for a cash payment of $25,000 and 592,370 shares in Australasia Gold, plus six-monthly payments of $7,500 and 150,000 shares for a minimum of two years. The total consideration over 2 years is therefore $55,000 plus 1,192,370 fully paid shares in Australasia Gold Ltd.

Australasia can elect to acquire a further 40% interest in the tenements by a further payment of $62,500 and the issue of shares valued at $187,500 based on the share price prevailing at the time of making the acquisition.

Australasia Gold will manage exploration, and the Murninnie Mine Syndicate (the vendors) will be free-carried to the decision to construct a mine, at which point it will have the right to participate for its 15% or to revert to a free-carried 4% participating interest in the project.