Unnamed Chinese investors are seeking to back New Zealand firm New Talisman Gold Mines (NTL) in its bid to reopen an historic North Island gold mine, the New Zealand company announced Friday.

NTL had signed a heads of agreement deal with St Albans Pty Ltd. , a special purpose vehicle set up by a Chinese investor group, which was contemplating investing 10.9 million NZ dollars (8.97 million US dollars) to fund the Talisman Mine development project in the Hauraki region.

The deal, which was subject to due diligence and NTL shareholder approval, would see St Albans take 65 percent of the gold and silver produced after costs from the reserves identified in a pre-feasibility study.

It also provided for St Albans to contribute specialist gold extraction capabilities and plant and equipment for the processing of ore, and gave it first option to fund any future expansion at the Talisman permit area.

Existing NTL shareholders retained 100 percent title to the Talisman Mine and full rights to the ore once production from the pre-feasibility ore reserves was complete, executive director Matthew Hill said in a statement.

The ability to accelerate the development was a significant opportunity to both parties to benefit from an historically important mine in the most commercially productive gold region in New Zealand.

The Talisman Mine is believed to date from the 1870s and lies near the Martha pit, the largest gold and silver producing mine in New Zealand's history.