Triple Plate Junction shares fall following Papua New Guinea joint exploration update

AIM-listed gold exploration company Triple Plate Junction has unveiled an update on its Papua New Guinea project prompting a sharp fall in its shares.

The company announced that Newmont Ventures, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation, would not be allocating a development budget to the joint venture's Morobe project in Papua New Guinea for 2013.

Newmont terminating search for large bulk tonnage gold/copper porphyry systemsThe company announced that Newmont had decided to terminate its search for large bulk tonnage gold/copper porphyry systems at the JV property, and that Newmont was in the process of exploring its options in consultation with Triple Plate Junction.

Triple Plate Junction stated that following its own exploration and that conducted by Newmont on behalf of the JV, it had identified "a very significant amount of related data" which Triple Plate Junction was evaluating in order to determine whether there were areas within the JV territory which could be appropriate and suitable for Triple Plate Junction.

High-grade targets foundThe group said that it had found areas containing high-grade targets that Newmont had discounted as too small for their requirements but which could be of "great interest" to the company to develop.

It stated that it had engaged the services of an experienced team of geologists to commence the process of reviewing project data and added thart the anticipated report would be delivered by the end of February 2013.

The company stated that it is also in discussions with Barrick Gold Corporation about their future intentions for the joint venture at Wamum, where it said that exploration work over the last two years had been "very limited".

Triple Plate Junction's share price was down 12% to 0.55p at 09:52 on Friday morning.

MF