Intrepid cancels E. Java copper-gold project deal with Vale

Brisbane-based Intrepid Mines Limited said on Tuesday that negotiations with Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A. in respect of the option to acquire rights at its Tujuh Bukit copper-gold project in East Java have been terminated, as the parties have been unable to reach agreement on several key elements of the formal option documentation.

The company did not give further explanation.

Intrepid signed in July this year a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Vale Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vale, granting the latter an option to acquire a stake in the Tujuh Bukit project.

Under the HoA, Vale, the world?s second largest mining company by value, could earn a 60 percent stake in a joint venture company holding the rights to the Tujuh Bukit project by, among others, spending a total of US$40 million.

Tujuh Bukit covers approximately 11,600 hectares in an area about 205 kilometres southeast of Surabaya, East Java provincial capital. (denny)