NEW YORK, NY, Jun 02 (MARKET WIRE) —
A little-known junior mining exploration and development company,
Sillenger Exploration Corp. (OTCQB: SLGX) (PINKSHEETS: SLGX), turned
heads late Tuesday when it announced that the Company had locked up the
mineral and hydrocarbon exploration rights of an entire African nation
already known for its production of crude oil.
In a news release made after the closing bell in Toronto Tuesday,
Sillenger Exploration announced signing an agreement with Equatorial
Guinea’s Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy to conduct a nation-wide
airborne geophysical survey of the continental region for commercial
mining of minerals and hydrocarbons. The deal calls for Sillenger to
receive “fast-track” approval of any permits needed to proceed to the
next level of commercialization.
The Company noted that gold, diamonds and a host of base metals were most
likely to be found, which according to the US Geological Survey is a
strong likelihood, having noted that several hundred kilograms of gold
was produced and exported in a 2007 report.
Hydrocarbons are also being covered under the lucrative exploration terms
the junior mining company managed to negotiate. Equatorial Guinea is
already one of the largest producers of crude oil for export of any
Democratic African nation, having first developed major oil production
shortly after its independence from Spain in 1968. As a result, more than
90 percent of Equatorial Guinea’s economy comes from oil, making mineral
exploration take a backseat, despite prior attempts to survey select
regions of the country by companies in Spain and France. Sillenger is the
first mining exploration and development company to step up to the plate
with the Guinean government and lock up the entire African nation. It is
in fact, the first junior mining company to ever obtain such a vast
region as to comprise an entire nation in over thirty years. A feat not
even major mining companies have been able to accomplish.
The Equatorial Guinea Minister of Mining, Mr. Diosdado Engono Bengono,
commented on the agreement saying the deal with Sillenger Exploration
would allow for the expansion of businesses and further diversify
Equatorial Guinea’s economy, promising to push through whatever permits
were needed as quickly as possible.
The agreement with Sillenger “will enable our Country to develop its
natural resource industries and diversify the economy,” said Bengono. “We
are looking forward to a long and mutually rewarding partnership.”
MBendi, a South African information provider whose focus is minerals and
energy, stated in a 2008 report that in pre-colonial times Equatorial
Guinea was known for gold and iron production during the Spanish era,
which ended in 1968. Yet despite those activities, no company has stepped
forward to enter into a joint-venture agreement with Equatorial Guinea in
over 30 years, though with metals prices, both precious and base metals,
having soared by comparison, Sillenger Exploration’s deal was more than
timely, as existing major producers of gold and base metals battle it out
globally to replenish fast depleting resources. At this juncture, SLGX
said it would begin its survey work in July and most likely dozens of mid
to major level mining companies will be keeping a close eye on those
results.
Looking forward, should the President of Equatorial Guinea join Sillenger
Exploration in announcing their partnership once the survey work begins,
SLGX could become host to a batch of mining dignitaries looking to
examine Sillenger’s survey results with the hopes of entering in a deal
to lock up those resources once the properties are more closely
identified.
Sillenger President Mr. John Gillespie was unavailable for comment,
though an SLGX spokesperson said the “Company would release more news in
the coming weeks ahead,” deferring to Mr. Gillespie for further details
at that time.
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