Sunridge Gold Corp. (TSXV:SGC,OTCQX:SGCNF) announced yesterday that Eritrea National Mining Corp. (ENAMCO), which in August 2012 exercised its right to acquire a 30-percent participating interest in Sunridge’s Asmara copper-gold-zinc project, has now agreed to pay Sunridge US$18.33 million to buy that interest.

As quoted in the press release:

Also, on signing of the shareholder agreement (the “Shareholders Agreement”) ENAMCO will pay Sunridge one-third of all project development costs back-dated to July 4, 2012, the date they exercised the right to purchase, which amount is currently estimated to be approximately US$4 million. In addition, ENAMCO will contribute one-third of the funding of ongoing expenditure on the project, including exploration and development.

The valuation date for ENAMCO’s interest is July 4, 2012 and therefore it is largely based on the results of Asmara Project prefeasibility study which were published in May 2012. In May 2013, Sunridge completed a full feasibility study on the Asmara Project which showed a significantly higher value.

Michael Hopley, president and CEO of Sunridge, commented:

Sunridge has passed many milestones with the development of the Asmara Project over the last few years and this is the most significant milestone to date. We are very pleased that we have reached an agreement with the Eritrean Government and look forward to working cooperatively with ENAMCO to rapidly move the Asmara Project into production as soon as possible for the mutual benefit of Sunridge and the people of Eritrea.

Click here to read the full Sunridge Gold Corp. (TSXV:SCG,OTCQX:SGCNF) press release.