STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Mariana Resources up on JV news

Shares in Mariana Resources (MRRE.L) gain 6.8 percent after the explorer signs a joint venture (JV) agreement with Hochschild Mining (HOCM.L) to explore and develop three adjoining prospective gold-silver tenements in Patagonia.

"We think that this JV adds further credibility to the recently demonstrated ability of Mariana Resources to make economic gold-silver discoveries," says FinnCap in a note.

The broker says the company is now poised to add considerable value to a series of highly prospective projects in Latin America next year.

"If further exploration success were to happen in 2010 for Mariana, we believe that the shares would significantly increase beyond our current valuation of 19 pence per share," it says.

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