After months of waiting, Stratex International (LON:STI) has cleared the final hurdle in its tie-up with Turkish engineering group NTF over the development of the Inlice and Alt?ntepe gold projects.

Stratex, which runs exploration projects in Turkey and Ethiopia, agreed a provisional joint venture deal with NTF last summer, which was followed by a definitive agreement in February 2010. However, a number of administrative issues still needed to be resolved. Today’s formal completion means that Stratex gets its hands on a US$1 million purchase fee from NTF. In turn, NTF is already well advanced on a feasibility study at Inlice, which is costing up to US$2 million and could see it earn a 55% stake. The Turkish group is also working on a US$0.5 million scoping study at Altintepe and could take a 55% stake there if it proceeds with funding a US$2 million feasibility study.

Stratex’s executive chairman, David Hall, said: “This new mining venture with our dedicated joint venture partner NTF is a major step for Stratex in establishing itself as a gold production company as it aims to fast-track the Inlice and Alt?ntepe projects into production.”

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