Operations Update

RNS Number : 1150C

Great Western Mining Corp. plc

15 October 2020

 

GREAT WESTERN MINING CORPORATION PLC

("Great Western", "GWM" or the "Company")

OPERATIONS UPDATE

MINERAL JACKPOT

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 operations at the Mineral Jackpot Properties ("MJ") in the  Black Mountain Group, Mineral County, Nevada.

The Company is focused on producing first gold and silver from the MJ operation this year and has continued to make good progress as it develops this mineral rich asset, where work in progress consists of:

· Transportation of bulk material from the high altitude site

· Assaying material and commencement of a leach testing programme

· Further evaluation of long-term production options

· Processing first gold and silver via a gravity separation circuit

As previously reported, Great Western's immediate aim is to prove up the concept of recovery from spoil heaps in 2020 by producing first gold and silver.  This timing cannot be guaranteed as the Company is dependent on the availability of third-party contractors in a market which is currently very active, but it is the Company's clear objective.

Roadmap to Production

Current permitting regulations allow for the initial displacement of up to 900 tonnes from the mine areas for processing offsite before seeking further approvals. The Company aims to produce first gold and silver from selected spoil heaps following recent testing and, if this is successful, consent for a larger scale plan of operation will be applied for.  Facilities could, for example, be constructed for continuous production at the GWM-owned Marietta property, utilising material from the remaining spoil heaps.  Such facilities could in the longer term also be used to process material mined or recovered elsewhere on the Company's claims.

A specialised tracked vehicle is offloading material from selected spoil heaps in 2-tonne batches and will deliver 25 tonnes during October.  500 kilograms of material will be head-assayed and then sent to a laboratory in Sparks, Nevada for leach-testing, with a matching sample of 130 kilograms simultaneously air-freighted to a laboratory in the UK where it can be tested in parallel so that the results can be compared and verified. 

The remaining material loaded from site will be processed through a gravity separation circuit operated by a contractor in the area, after first being crushed to a small grade through a pulverising mill.  Reject material from the gravity separation can be reprocessed through leaching, for further recovery of gold and silver at a later date.  The gravity separator is available now and a pulverising unit is currently being sourced.

Building on strong progress made to date

In recent weeks, 100 kilograms of samples have been collected from five spoil heaps for processing in a local laboratory.  Head assays were conducted, consisting of a fire assay of crushed and pulverised sub-samples, reporting 2.28 grams/tonne gold plus 658 grams/tonne silver and establishing the total gold and silver content in each sample.

Crushed and pulverised samples were run through a set of gravity processing spirals to measure recoverable gold and silver, with average recordings of 30% gold recovery and 15% silver recovery. Additionally, a cyanide leach bottle roll test was carried out on high grade samples, 1,000 grams being pulverised to 1.3 millimetres which achieved 87% gold recovery and 46% silver recovery from a 48 hour leaching process.

Background

MJ comprises five historic mine sites which have produced gold and silver in the distant past.  Using modern technology, Great Western has established previously unknown connectivity between the old mine sites and has also mapped extensions of the precious metal-bearing veins beyond the original operating envelope, effectively doubling the potential for mining precious metals. Rugged mountainous conditions are challenging and the sites are relatively difficult to access but nevertheless feasible for mining operations.  Rich veins established through sampling would normally be cross-trenched and then drilled, but access for trenching is impractical so these veins will be directly drilled as soon as a light, manoeuvrable drilling unit becomes available. 

There are approximately 38 historic spoil heaps already identified at MJ as having the potential for secondary recovery of precious metals through cyanide leaching and/or gravity separation, about half of which have been inspected and are readily accessible.  It has not yet been feasible to measure and evaluate all the spoil heaps but a preliminary estimate of their combined weight could be as high as 12,000 tonnes of material.  Further sampling and testing will need to be performed before long term production volumes can be estimated.

Great Western Chairman Brian Hall commented: "We are on track to produce our first precious metals from the spoil heaps at Mineral Jackpot and to prove our concept.  Until the recent completion of laboratory testing, we could not be sure that gravity separation would be a viable option for producing gold and silver from Mineral Jackpot, but I am now pleased to report that we believe it is. In the immediate term, therefore, we expect to produce gold and silver through gravity separation while for the longer term we will develop an optimised leaching facility, based on the data acquired from the ongoing extensive testing programme, to achieve a higher long-term recovery rate.  We will provide further updates as appropriate."

Qualified Person

Information in this announcement has been reviewed by William Cooper, who is the Chief Geologist and Exploration Manager of Great Western Mining.   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	[phone]
Max Williams, Finance Director	[phone]
Davy (NOMAD, Euronext Growth Adviser & Joint Broker) John Frain	[phone]
Novum Securities (Joint Broker) Jon Belliss	[phone]
ETX Capital (Joint Broker)  Thomas Smith	[phone]
Walbrook PR (PR advisers) Nick Rome/Nicholas Johnson	[phone]

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. 

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 0.45% copper, for 19,000 tonnes of contained copper metal. This resource has been independently reported in accordance with JORC guidelines. 

 

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