PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed gold explorer Stratex International has made a play for Brazil-focused Crusader Resources.

The two companies on Thursday announced a nonbinding heads of agreement under which Crusader shareholders would receive 6.6 Stratex ordinary shares for every Crusader share held.

The offer valued Crusader shares at 18c each, and valued the entire company at about A$54.2-million.

Following the transaction, Crusader shareholders would hold an 81% shareholding in the enlarged company.

Crusader chairperson Stephen Copulos said that the company was "very pleased" to be exploring a possible merger with Stratex.

“The proposed transaction should, if implemented, provide for an uplift in value for Crusader shareholders and with Stratex’s existing cash balance of over A$12-million, funding to progress the Borborema and Juruena projects.

“The combined company will be able to leverage off its significant balance sheet, strong portfolio of gold development and exploration assets and highly regarded combined management team to move forward to project development in the near-term,” Copulos said.

Crusader is hoping to start gold production from its Juruena project before the end of the year.

The company earlier this week indicated that mining and environmental permits for the Juruena project were due in the second quarter of this year, allowing for the start of construction and development soon after.

The project is estimated to host some 1.28-million tonnes of resource, grading 6.3 g/t gold for some 260 900 oz of gold, with the project’s preliminary economic assessment considering initial mining from two openpit operations at the Querosene and Dona Maria deposits, followed by underground mining.

Work is also continuing at the Borborema project, focused on the development of a two-million-tonne-a-year operation.