TIDMGWMO
RNS Number : 9914J
Great Western Mining Corp. plc
22 August 2023
GREAT WESTERN MINING CORPORATION PLC
("Great Western", "GWM" or the "Company")
Mill Construction Update
Great Western (AIM - GWMO, Euronext Growth - 8GW) provides the
following update on construction of its mill for producing precious
metals in Mineral County Nevada.
-- Process equipment assembled adjacent to site and ready to install
-- Foundations laid and concreted with retaining walls erected
-- Water bore holes and water monitoring wells concreted and complete
-- Access roads and laydown area complete
-- Final concrete pour to meet environmental standards waiting on contractor
-- Assembly and testing of plant will follow final concrete pour
-- NDEP site visit for provisional inspection this week
-- NDEP approval likely to be delayed by at least two months
-- Project costs within budget
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Great Western and its partner Muletown Enterprizes LLC
('Muletown') are constructing a mill at Sodaville, close to Mina in
Mineral County, Nevada, to produce gold and silver concentrates
from spoil heaps left over from historic gold and silver mining
operations on claims held by the Company, together with tailings,
unprocessed stockpiles and in due course newly-mined shallow ore.
When this plant is operational, it will transform Great Western
from a pure mineral exploration company into combining exploration,
appraisal and production. The interests of Great Western and
Muletown are held through equal shares in a newly created vehicle,
Western Milling LCC (Western). Great Western has fulfilled the
terms of an earn-in to this venture and is a 50% interest holder in
Western.
The mill is being constructed on a naturally formed rock
feature, adjacent to and within easy access of a major highway,
which has been used for milling operations in the past. The mill
site is on private land owned by Muletown which it is leasing it to
Western for a nominal rent. Mains power is available and there is
an abundant supply of water in the immediate area. The first phase
of production is a simple gravity separation plant for which a
production permit application was lodged with NDEP (Nevada
Department of Environmental Protection) early this year. A planning
permit for the mill has already been approved but production
start-up is dependent on receiving NDEP consent.
In a second phase, tailings will be processed through an
encapsulated chemical leaching plant for further recovery of
precious metals. As this second phase will be more environmentally
sensitive than gravity separation, the joint venture aimed to speed
up the application process by applying only for gravity separation
in the first instance, with a view to achieving an earlier start-up
date for first production. Once the gravity permit has been
received, an application for chemical leaching will be filed with
NDEP. In the meantime, the plant has been designed and is being
built to cater for chemical leaching so that the second phase, when
approved, can be brought on production with minimal delay and
minimal additional cost.
Under the joint venture arrangement, Muletown is not only
providing the mill site at a nominal rent but also virtually all
the equipment needed for the milling plant from its own extensive
inventory, together with day-to-day supervision of plant
construction and operations. The main items that have been provided
by Muletown are a jaw crusher, a conveyor belt, a rod mill,
hydrocyclones, spirals, generators, water tanks, a shaker table and
a near-site laboratory, together with numerous smaller items. Some
of the main items, such as the jaw crusher and the shaker table,
are materially oversized and lend themselves to an expanded project
in the future. Great Western is funding (1) site construction and
(2) upgrading/modifying and installing the mill equipment for use
on site. Great Western's budget for this phase is not thought
likely to overrun.
CURRENT STATUS
To meet environmental requirements, the final concrete pour
cannot be carried out piecemeal and requires a continuous pour with
several concrete mixer trucks operating in tandem, the closest
contractor being a 2-hour drive from its base to the Western site.
Due to high construction demand in the area and a scarcity of local
contractors, it has not so far been possible to organise this final
pour except at an unacceptable premium to normal market rates.
Accordingly, Western has renovated and commissioned a concrete
plant on site which it has now used to lay foundations and complete
groundwork. When a contractor is available for the final part of
the job, Western's own plant will supplement this operation and
reduce the number of external truck loads required. At present
there is no agreed date for the operation but it is a very high
priority and will be carried out as soon as it can be arranged.
When a production application was submitted to NDEP, the
indicated turn-round estimate for receiving a permit was six months
and finalisation was estimated to be this month. However, NDEP has
recently advised that a heavy workload and staff shortages will
delay this by at least two more months. The additional time will be
well used to complete the project in the most effective manner.
NDEP will be carrying out a provisional site inspection this
week.
Great Western Chairman Brian Hall commented: "Delays are always
disappointing but in this case have been beyond the Company's
control. All the ingredients are in place to move forward and the
Western Milling joint venture remains an exciting project and a top
priority for the Great Western. Costs are being carefully
controlled and we plan to be ready for first production by the time
regulatory approval has been secured. We cannot guarantee the
timing of this approval but our aim is to be on production this
year".
For further information:
Great Western Mining Corporation
PLC
Brian Hall, Chairman +44 207 933 8780
Max Williams, Finance Director +44 207 933 8780
Davy (NOMAD, Euronext Growth Listing
Sponsor & Joint Broker)
Brian Garrahy +353 1 679 6363
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Joint
Broker)
Ewan Leggat/Harry Davies-Ball +44 203 470 0470
Walbrook PR (PR advisers)
Nick Rome +44 207 933 8783
Notes to Editors
The Company has a large tract of acreage in Mineral County,
Nevada. The area consists of rugged, mountainous terrain, which
means that large parts of it remain under-explored. Mineral
potential is hosted by the regional Walker Lane Structural Belt,
the largest structural and metallogenic belt in Nevada, yet one of
the least explored in recent times, with gold, silver and copper
currently produced in Mineral County. Great Western has seven
distinct concession areas which offer the potential for exploiting
(1) short term gold and silver deposits and (2) long-term,
world-class copper deposits.
Six of the Company's properties are in the west of Mineral
County and are 100% owned and operated. The Company has an option
to acquire a seventh property, the Olympic Gold Project, in the
east of the county. Great Western's small exploration team is
supported by locally based consultants and contractors.
The state of Nevada is generally considered to be one of the
world's most mining friendly jurisdictions. While tightly regulated
and environmentally conscious, Nevada welcomes the mining industry.
Great Western takes care to ensure that its claims are maintained
in good standing and all regulations observed.
There are numerous gold and silver prospects on the Company's
acreage, including extensive historic mine workings which offer the
opportunity for secondary recovery. The Company is party to a 50-50
joint venture known as Western Milling LLC which is constructing a
mill to process pre-mined material for secondary recovery of gold
and silver.
Furthermore, through extensive drilling over a five-year period,
GWM has established a Mineral Resource on its first target area
known as M2, of 4.3 million tonnes at 0.45% copper, for 19,000
tonnes of contained copper metal. This resource has been
independently reported in accordance with JORC guidelines.
GWM has established an Inferred Resource Estimate of 31,000
tonnes grading 1.6 g/t gold and 3.0 g/t silver in tailings for the
OMCO Mine at the Olympic Gold Project. It has also established
Exploration targets. In addition, the Company has reported an
Exploration Target as follows:
-- 3,400 - 6,400 tonnes grading between 0.5 and 1.2 g/t Au and
1.2 and 2.1 g/t Ag in the substrate beneath the tailings volume at
the Olympic Mine.
-- 9,000 - 12,000 tonnes grading between 0.9 and 2.4 g/t Au and
2.0 and 5.1 g/t Ag in a coarse stockpile at Olympic Mine.
-- 4,200 - 7,700 tonnes grading between 40 and 140 g/t Ag and
0.3 and 0.3 g/t Au in spoil heaps at Mineral Jackpot.
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