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RNS Number : 2669Q
Great Western Mining Corp. plc
25 February 2021
GREAT WESTERN MINING CORPORATION PLC
("Great Western", "GWM" or the "Company")
OPERATIONAL UPDATE
Great Western Mining Corporation PLC (AIM - GWMO, Euronext
Growth - 8GW), the mineral exploration and development company with
gold, silver and copper assets in the USA, provides the following
update on its operations.
EXPLORATION & DRILLING
-- New claims staked at Olympic Gold Project
-- Rig contract agreed for 10,000 feet (3,048 metres) drilling
programme at Olympic Gold and Rock House (RH) group commencing
April
-- Trial drilling planned for copper at M4
-- Light, portable, two-man coring rig being upgraded in-house
to drill prospects with difficult access at Mineral Jackpot and
M4
PRODUCTION POTENTIAL
-- Laboratory test results indicate commercial viability of
processing gold and silver through gravity separation
-- Completion of scheduled processing of Mineral Jackpot spoil
heap material to recommence following equipment repairs
-- Trial processing of precious metals for material recovered from the Rock House Group (RH)
2021 DRILLING PROGRAMME
New drilling is planned for the 2021 work season at:
-- The Olympic Gold Project - OMCO Mine Extension and Trafalgar Hill Prospect
-- Rock House Group
-- M4 Gold/Copper prospect
-- Mineral Jackpot
A contract has now been agreed with O'Keefe Drilling for a
reverse circulation (RC) rig with a programme to drill 10,000 feet
(3,048 metres) at the Olympic Gold Project and the RH Group. This
will be the first time that the Company has drilled at Olympic
Gold, over which it acquired a purchase option in 2020, and the
first time anybody has ever drilled at the RH Group.
In addition, a light, portable, two-man coring rig has been
procured to drill targets not accessible by the RC rig without
further road construction or upgrades. This will firstly drill at
the M4 gold and copper project and subsequently at Mineral Jackpot.
This programme will most likely follow the conclusion of the RC
drill rig programme but drilling operations can be unpredictable
and may be subject to change.
OLYMPIC GOLD PROJECT
There are two primary objectives at Olympic Gold:
-- OMCO Mine Extension: As previously reported, the OMCO Mine
produced high grades and high volumes of gold and silver until the
1940s but mining ceased where the productive veins met a fault.
Great Western's objective is to find a continuation of these veins
on the eastern side of this fault and the recently-completed
geophysical survey gave a strong indication of numerous anomalies
which may be the key to this. GWM has therefore moved swiftly to
acquire new ground to the east of the existing claim holdings and
covering the area which may contain a faulted offset of the OMCO
veins. 12 new claims have now been staked, increasing the total
claim area by 0.92 km(2) and permitting for drilling is under
way.
-- Trafalgar Hill Prospect: Drill locations have been defined
following the recent geophysical survey which has established a
very strong magnetic anomaly beneath the Trafalgar Hill target
area, indicating the potential for precious metals.
M4 PROSPECT
At the M4 prospect, a large copper-rich breccia vein has already
been discovered and a near surface intercept of this vein is the
initial drill target. Although this is both a gold and copper
target, the objective of drilling at M4 will be to appraise the
copper potential at minimal cost with a view to attracting a larger
industry partner to join the Company in exploitation of its copper
potential. To avoid road building, the two-man portable coring rig
will be used to drill this hole and possible follow-up holes.
PRECIOUS METALS PROCESSING
A sample load of Mineral Jackpot spoil heap material has been
crushed to varying levels at a laboratory in the UK to assess the
recoverability of gold and silver at each stage and is under long
term analysis, but initial stage results now received indicate the
commercial viability of processing gold and silver through gravity
separation when crushed to 0.35 millimetres. Gravity separation is
less environmentally sensitive than cyanide leaching and now
potentially opens a path to commercial development.
The laboratory programme is now in the final phase, being a long
term 'column test' which simulates a cyanide leaching operation and
determines how long it would take to achieve optimum recovery of
precious metals through cyanide leaching. The column test is likely
to be completed in March.
Cyanide leaching should achieve greater recoveries than gravity
separation in the longer term, but the results of the column test
will determine its economic viability. Gravity separation offers an
interim solution, but a decision to construct a stand-alone
leaching project would need to take account of exploiting new veins
in addition to processing existing spoil heaps in order to be
viable.
Follow up of the successful production of a first dore bar at
the end of 2020, from a small pilot test production facility
established by the Company, has been delayed, initially by extreme
weather and subsequently by the need to replace parts and
equipment, which is ongoing.
As well as continuing the processing of spoil heap material,
promising new material has been collected in the last two weeks
from and near the trenching carried out at the Rock House Group
(RH) Eastern Sheer Zone last year and this will also be processed.
A further three and a half tonnes of material will be processed
through the pilot plant as soon as it is operational.
Great Western chairman Brian Hall commented: "We have a busy
programme ahead of us in 2021 and we are pleased to have firmed up
a rig contract ahead of the spring and summer work season for an
extensive drilling programme, as well as a further drilling
programme in difficult locations with a small and portable coring
rig. Final analysis of our spoil heap material is quite a long
process but we are confident it will be worth the wait and are
greatly encouraged by advice we have received on the viability of
commercial gravity separation. Drill-testing the OMCO Mine
extension and the Trafalgar Hill prospect will be an exciting
programme, together with our targets at the RH group, the M4 copper
prospect and Mineral Jackpot. We have other gold and silver
prospects which we are keen to evaluate further this year, if time
and access permits. One limiting factor for Great Western is the
continuing restriction on trans-Atlantic travel due to the pandemic
and when these restrictions are eventually lifted, we will be able
to accelerate our operations and cover even more ground."
Qualified Person
Information in this announcement has been reviewed by William
Cooper, who is the Chief Geologist and Vice-President Exploration
of Great Western. He holds a MSc in Mining Geology from the
Camborne School of Mines. He is a Member of the Australian
Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG) and is a Qualified Person as
defined in the Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies which
form part of the AIM Rules for Companies. Mr Cooper consents to the
inclusion of the information in the form and context in which they
appear.
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 Adviser
& Joint Broker)
John Frain +353 1 679 6363
Walbrook PR (PR advisers)
Nick Rome/Nicholas
Johnson +44 207 933 8783
About Great Western Mining
Great Western Mining Corporation PLC (AIM: GWMO/Euronext Growth:
8-GW) is focused on accelerating exploitation of its gold and
silver prospects in the U.S. state of Nevada, where an active
exploration and development programme is under way. Its gold
exploration target currently ranges from 0.50 million to 1.50
million ounces from multiple prospects and a project is being
developed to produce commercial quantities of gold from numerous
spoil heaps. In addition to precious metals, the Company has
established a Mineral Resource of 4.3 million tonnes of 0.45%
copper, prepared in accordance with JORC guidelines, which
underpins the longer-term potential provided by the Company's
portfolio of assets.
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