TSX-V-listed Latin Metals has found one of the world’s biggest gold miners – AngloGold Ashanti – as a potential partner for its projects in Argentina.

The company on Thursday announced a nonbinding letter of intent (LOI) with the South Africa-based gold major regarding the Organullo, Ana Maria, and Trigal gold projects, in Salta province.

The LOI provides the parties with a 90-day period to negotiate and, if deemed advisable, enter into a definitive agreement, through which the parties contemplate that AngloGold would be granted the option to acquire up to an 80% interest in the projects.

“Securing joint venture partners is a key part of Latin Metals’ prospect generator operating model and we are pleased to have entered into the LOI with AngloGold, as a potential partner for our projects in Salta province,” stated Latin Metals president and CEO Keith Henderson.

“Relatively advanced-stage exploration projects like Organullo require significant expenditures to assess the full potential of the project, which expenditures would otherwise need to be financed through dilutive equity financing. Under the terms contemplated by the LOI, Latin Metals would retain a significant minority position and have the opportunity to participate with AngloGold in a future joint venture (JV).”

The LOI contemplates that upon execution of a definitive agreement AngloGold would be granted the option to earn an initial 75% interest in the projects by making $2.55-million cash payments to Latin Metals and spending $10-million on exploration expenditures within five years of the execution and delivery of a definitive agreement.

The LOI contemplates that AngloGold would have the opportunity to increase its interest in the projects to 80% by preparing an independent mineral resource estimate on one or more of the project, and paying to Latin Metals $4.65 a gold-equivalent ounce contained within the measured and indicated mineral resource.

Latin Metals operates with a prospect generator model focusing on the acquisition of prospective exploration properties at minimum cost, completing initial evaluation through cost-effective exploration to establish drill targets, and ultimately securing JV partners to fund drilling and advanced exploration.