REG - Great Western Mining - Mill Construction Update

Great Western MiningAnnouncement

22/08/2023 07:00

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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,                                                                                                              +44 207 933 8780
 Chairman
 Max Williams, Finance                                                                                                    +44 207 933 8780
 Director

 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                                                                                                                     +44 207 933 8783
 Rome

 

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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