Greatland Gold's shares surge on Ernest Giles project agreement

Newmont -- subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corp -- has been granted access to Greatland's Ernest Giles project tenements and exploration database for a period of six months.

"Additionally, Newmont is granted a right of first refusal should Greatland wish to sell or joint venture the Ernest Giles project during that six month period," it said.

The Ernest Giles project covered more than 1800 sq km of a virtually unexplored greenstone belt that hosted multiple gold exploration targets.

Under the agreement, Newmont had the right to apply certain proprietary exploration methods across this portfolio of targets.

Greatland's chief executive, Gervaise Heddle, was delighted with the agreement, and hoped it would significantly accelerate the realisation of the potential value of this exciting gold project.

"This agreement represents a major step forward for the Company and reinforces our view that the Ernest Giles project has the potential to host several multi-million ounce gold camps."

At 13:05 BST, shares in AIM-listed Greatland Gold were up 28.12% to 0.41p each.