LONDON (ResourceInvestor.com) -- New to London's Alternative Investment Market this week is Eastern Mediterranean Resources (EMED), a company that hopes to precipitate a renaissance of the largely defunct Cypriot mining industry, while also pursuing a wider regional exploration strategy.
Mining in Cyprus entered a period of decline after the 1974 Turkish occupation of the island's northern half appropriated its largest operation, consequently putting a dampener on further activity. Of the view that it is time to reverse this decline, EMR is focusing its attentions on the copper-gold mineralisation of the Troodos Complex, which hosts the vast majority of the island's geological potential.
Cyprus has a long history of mining, particularly of copper, the Greek word for which is the origin of the island's name. The mine lost to the Turkish north in 1974 produced 650,000t copper during its operating life at an impressive average grade of 4%, and EMR is targeting deposits with potential for minimum resources of 150,000t copper or 1moz gold. Historically, Cypriot mining has focused on surface hosted mineralisation, ignoring concealed sub surface deposits, and it is this type of mineralisation that EMR will be looking for.
The company has staked exploration claims across much of the Troodos Complex, and intends to drill five of the most promising prospects in Q4 of this year based upon the results of preliminary exploration work, including both airborne and ground based geophysical surveys. The company benefits from the digitised exploration database of Australian listed Oxiana [ASX:OXR], which undertook several years of exploration on Cyprus before deciding that the island was peripheral to its Asian focus and divesting its interests there to EMR.
Despite the shock to the Cypriot mining industry of the Turkish invasion, EMR's Managing Director Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, an Australian of Greek extraction who previously headed up the now stricken Gympie Gold, reports that the island's government and society remains amenable to mining, and will likely be supportive of the company's ambitions. Anagnostaras-Adams is also confident that the division of Cyprus is on track for a resolution, and that political progress towards integration belies that being made on a societal level.
Cypriot amenability to mining would be in stark counterpoint to attitudes in mainland Greece, which are often markedly hostile to the industry. EMR has applied for some exploration licences in Greece as part of its regional exploration effort, but for this reason Anagnostaras-Adams will remain cautious regarding the company's involvement in the country, which he nevertheless regards as attractive from a geological point of view. This is indicative of EMR's avowed policy of following geology, not political boundaries when applying for exploration permits, though politics will of course affect the viability of these permits.
EMR is also making exploration permit applications in Slovakia and Bulgaria, and has outlined a prospective geological trend beginning in Hungary and Slovakia, stretching across Turkey and ending in Iran. Anagnostaras-Adams says that EMR intends to acquire quite a large and diverse portfolio of exploration properties across the countries in this belt, and would even venture into Iran if it opens up sufficiently in the coming years.
The company's Slovakian permits are possibly the most interesting currently under application, located as they are in an area of historic gold production and in the vicinity of a known 1moz resource. Anagnostaras-Adams believes that the Slovakian government, like the Cypriot one, is likely to be relatively supportive of mining. Things may move more slowly in Bulgaria though, thanks to an unusual permitting process that incorporates a mandatory open tender of the ground concerned.
EMR has raised a sum of lb1.91m net of expenses in its AIM flotation, and expects that this, in combination with its pre-listing finance, will likely be sufficient to carry it through its first couple of years of exploration. The shares were listed at 8p, and have risen to 8.75p since their debut on Monday. A company that prides itself on local engagement and immersion of its personnel, EMR may develop into an interesting way to play the neglected mineral potential of this corner of the world.
