Advance Metals (ASX: AVM) has reached an agreement with 1548043 BC (previously Serra Energy Metals Corp) to acquire a remaining 20% interest in the high-grade Myrtleford and Beaufort gold projects in Victoria.
The company had entered into an earlier deal with Serra to acquire an 80% interest in the projects for a consideration of $3.05 million in cash or Advance shares issued in several tranches over a four-year period.
In May 2025, that agreement was assigned from Serra to spin-off entity 1548043 BC, holder of all the shares in E79 Resources—the legal and beneficial owner of the Myrtleford and Beaufort tenements.
Under the terms of the latest agreement, 1548043 BC will sell its interest in E79 Resources to Advance based on a modified payment schedule that includes an additional consideration of $1.02m, taking the total amount owed to $4.07m in cash or shares.
Advance will grant 1548043 BC a 1% net smelter return royalty in respect of any future gold production from the project.
High-Grade Assays
The amended agreement follows a string of successful exploration programs at Myrtleford where Advance intersected best high-grade drilling assays of 8.2 metres at 28.8 grams per tonne gold from 186m including 3.4m at 68.2g/t, 7.5m at 55g/t gold from 178.1m including 1.3m at 305.8g/t, and 9.4m at 18.6g/t gold from 196.2m including 3.2m at 38.9g/t.
Initial metallurgical test work at the Happy Valley prospect returned gold recoveries of up to 96% in support of potential low-cost gravity processing options.
Further extensional drilling at the Happy Valley mine returned best results of 1m at 22.3 g/t gold from 102.2m including 0.2m at 108.5g/t from 102.5m, and 6.6m at 1.8g/t gold from 496.8m including 0.6m at 12.6g/t from 502.4m.
Combined with previous deeper intercepts including 3.7m at 16.6g/t gold, the results show that high-grade mineralisation at Happy Valley extends to at least 500m below surface.
Value-Accretive Step
Managing director Adam McKinnon said 100% ownership of Myrtleford and Beaufort was a logical and value-accretive step following the Happy Valley results.
“The combination of ultra-high grade assays, excellent gravity gold recoveries, and multiple untested historical trends gives us full exposure to what we believe is a compelling district-scale gold opportunity in the Victorian goldfields,” he said.
“The amended agreement has been structured over three years, allowing Advance to retain flexibility over whether payments are made in shares or cash, which provides the company with a clear pathway to secure full ownership while preserving balance sheet flexibility.”
“With ongoing structural modelling, pending assays, regional mapping and sampling and further drill targeting underway, Myrtleford is emerging as an important growth asset within Advance’s high grade precious metals portfolio.”
Advance is currently working on a structural model for the deposit to assist with future drill targeting.
