Sunrise Resources' shares dive as EP Minerals quits lease

Shares in Sunrise Resources are down almost 13% after the AIM-quoted company said EP Minerals, LLC gave unexepected notice to terminate its lease of the County Line Diatomite claims.

The claims are in Nevada, USA.

Sunrise said the receipt of notice was unexpected as EP Minerals had recently expanded its work programme and financial bonding under its permit with the US Bureau of Land Management.

It added that EP Minerals was now required to provide it with the results of its exploration on the property.

Executive chairman Patrick Cheetham noted that EP Minerals' permitted work programmes had centred on a specific area of the claims.

Sunrise's own testwork in other parts of the claim group, and also the results of tests carried out by another previously interested party, had led it to believe there was an on-going opportunity for the production of high value filter products from County Line diatomite.

"We will now explore alternative ways to commercialise this opportunity alongside the other projects in our industrial mineral project portfolio which continue to produce good results," said Cheetham in a statement.

At 10:50 GMT, shares in AIM-quoted Sunrise were down 12.9% to 0.14p each.