Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) has entered into a binding farm-in and joint venture agreement with LCL Resources (ASX:LCL) for the Ono Project.
The strategic partnership focuses on uncovering porphyry copper-gold discoveries, leveraging Rio Tinto's world-class exploration capabilities and substantial financial backing.
Under the terms of the deal, Rio Tinto will provide LCL with up to $1.5 million in cash payments, distributed across several key milestones.
Initially, Rio Tinto can secure a 51% interest in the project by sole funding a minimum of $8 million in exploration expenditure, which must include at least 4,000m of drilling.
The global miner has the option to increase its stake to 80% by committing a further $40 million in exploration spending or by defining a JORC-compliant mineral resource containing at least 1.25 million tonnes of metal on a copper-equivalent basis.
The stage also requires the completion of a scoping study on the identified resource.
Executive Chairman Chris van Wijk described the transaction as "transformational," noting that it validates the prospectivity of the Ono Project following recent high-grade gold and silver results.
For LCL, the partnership provides the necessary capital to pursue large-scale exploration activity that would otherwise be beyond its reach, while ensuring shareholders retain meaningful exposure to any potential discoveries.