Bluebird Merchant Ventures Limited Re-opening of Gubong Gold Mine commences (2901L)
July 18 2017 - 1:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMBMV
RNS Number : 2901L
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Limited
18 July 2017
18 July 2017
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd
(the "Company" or "Bluebird")
Work commences to reopen the main entrance to the huge Gubong
mine
Bluebird Merchant Ventures (EPIC: BMV), the Asian focused
resource development group, is delighted to announce that work has
started on the opening of the main adit of the historical Gubong
mine which is widely recognised as having been the second largest
gold mine in South Korea in its day. This significant event was
preceded by a speech to the local community given by the mayor of
Cheongyang. In his remarks, the mayor noted the strong support of
his county for the potential of a rejuvenated Gubong mine.
The Gubong area has been acknowledged to have the potential to
develop into a multi-million ounce orogenic gold district. The old
mine contains over one hundred kilometres of underground
development and more than 6 shafts including 2 verticals. This
existing development represents tens of millions of dollars of
value in today's terms. Access to the site is exceptional with tar
sealed roads to within 100 metres of the mine area. The power grid
is also adjacent to the property.
The Gubong mine closed in 1967 when the gold price was
US$35.50/oz. In those days substantial blocks of ore would have
been ignored as their grade would have made mining them uneconomic.
Many of the areas declared 'unpayable' in those days are expected
to be economic because of the higher gold price, more efficient
mining techniques and better recovery technology. In addition, our
information suggests that the mine closed without a systemic
program to salvage any of the predeveloped stopes, pillars,
remnants, broken ore and vamping. This is highly significant to
Bluebird as it means there can be good potential for early,
low-cost mining. An added bonus is a tailings dam that could be a
retreatable asset.
Once the main entrance to the mine is reopened the team will
seek to gain entry and make safe as many old production areas as
possible. Extensive sampling will then be done in these areas and
the samples then assayed. Following this all information will be
collated and the development of a production plan will be
initiated. It is also expected that by this time some of the
resource estimates will be upgraded to JORC. Following the
completion of the initial production plan the team will do an
economic assessment on various operation options. When compared to
conventional exploration, the time frame and cost is minimal.
After the closure of the mine, the main adit was sealed and
actually buried as part of the rehabilitation program. The actual
position of the adit is today, almost 50 years ago to the day, not
certain so the opening up of the adit is in three phases.
Firstly, the general area has to be cleared to allow the use of
ground penetrating radar equipment. This will locate the exact
position of the adit and whether or not it is full of water. Once
located, the adit will be opened in such a way as to contain the
water for testing and treatment prior to release. Whilst any water
is not expected to be under pressure, the quantity and necessity to
treat will determine the length of time required for entering and
exploring the adit, the third phase.
Colin Patterson, CEO, commented "we are thrilled to commence
work on opening up the main adit of the historical Gubong mine.
Both Charles Barclay and myself have reopened many mines together
and from our experience we have seen that mines almost never close
due to resources being exhausted. At every mine that we have
re-opened we have been able to extend the life of the mine
significantly and some of these mines are still producing today.
The Gubong mine is a large mine which gives us plenty of scope to
re-open and mine multiple areas at one time."
The Company believes that re-opening the Gubong mine has the
potential to add significant shareholder value. Colin Patterson
further noted that "I feel strongly that the current share price
does not reflect the true value of the Gubong project. As work
commences today at Gubong and progress is made towards re-opening
the mine I would expect that the market will quickly begin to grasp
the true value and huge potential we believe the Gubong project
has."
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES
OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION EU 596/2014 ("MAR")
Enquiries:
Bluebird Merchant Ventures
Ltd +44 (0)7797 859986
Jonathan Morley-Kirk,
Non-Executive Chairman
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
Ewan Leggat
Small Company Capital
Ltd
Rupert Williams/Jeremy + 44 (0)203 470 0470
Woodgate +44 (0)203 651 2910
Walbrook PR Limited +44 (0)207 933 8783
Gary Middleton / Nick
Rome
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
DRLKMGMNDNNGNZM
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 18, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Bluebird Merchant Ventures (LSE:BMV)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Bluebird Merchant Ventures (LSE:BMV)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024