Bluebird
Mining Ventures Ltd / EPIC: BMV.L / Market: FTSE / Sector:
Mining
23 September 2024
Bluebird Mining Ventures
Ltd
('Bluebird' or 'the
Company')
Kochang Mine
Update
Adit Refurbishment at
Kochang
Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd, a gold
project development company, is pleased to announce that, following
its internal technical evaluation of the Kochang Gold and Silver
Mine ('Kochang') in South Korea, plans to refurbish the existing
main mine adit are underway. Local contractors have visited
the area and planning work is being undertaken. The work on
refurbishment will satisfy the qualifying spend required for the
extension of the Kochang licence in accordance with the mining
regulatory authorities in South Korea.
Having consulted the Mine Safety
Office, the Company believe that they may be able to access the
mine for refurbishment before the grant of the Mountain Temporary
Use Permit. This remains under review by the Board of Audit
and Inspection, but the Company remain confident in a positive
outcome.
Bluebird Executive Director and Interim CEO Aidan Bishop
said, "The refurbishment of the adit
is beneficial in a number of ways. Safe access to the mine
will allow us to carry out additional studies and importantly the
attributed investment satisfies the spend commitment needed to
extend the licence for a further three years. Kochang has a
relatively quick path to production through the utilisation of
contract mining and toll treatment. The more we can do now,
the faster to cashflow. On a wider level, we continue to establish
development paths for our other two gold projects and hope to make
further announcements in due course re progress."
**ENDS**
For
further information please visit https://bluebirdmv.com or
contact:
Jonathan
Morley-Kirk Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd
Email: jmk@bluebirdmv.com
Nick Emerson
SI Capital
Tel:
01483413500
About Bluebird
London listed Bluebird Mining
Ventures Ltd is focused on developing high grade, low capex gold
projects. With a cumulative estimated 1.8M oz Au across three
projects, including two historic mines in South Korea and a
development project in the Philippines, the Company looks to JV its
assets with local partners to provide free carry structures to
advance its assets to production.
Bluebird recognised the most
effective strategy to develop projects in South Korea and the
Philippines involved adopting a Joint Venture model; by securing
local partners with in-country operational knowledge and investment
capital at the project level, assets can be advanced to production
on a de-risked basis.
The Company has three JV's providing
a cumulative c.US$9m investment: US$5m for the development of the
historic Gubong Gold Mine and US$2m for the Kochang Gold and Silver
Mine, in South Korea and c.US$2m (funding to a production decision)
for the Batangas Gold Project in the Philippines. With committed
development capital at the project level, the Company has free
carries to production/mine construction on all its projects, which
reduces its reliance on the international capital
markets.
Bluebird continues to provide
technical assistance to these projects, utilising its
internationally experienced mining team, which has a track record
of bringing gold projects into production across Southeast
Asia. Both JV parties recognise each sides competencies and
the mutual belief that together they can bring the projects into
production and generate significant value for all stakeholders.
Importantly the management team has personally invested cUS$2
million into the Company, highlighting their belief in the quality
of the portfolio.
Gubong, which was historically the
second largest gold mine in South Korea has 9 granted tenements
covering c.25 sq km. Gubong is moderately dipping with 9
veins extending 500m below surface and known to extend at least a
further 250m. However, the production opportunity for Bluebird
prior to looking at deepening the mine is the 25 levels already
developed with all the remnants and unmined areas left by the
original miners. The 25 levels extend over 120km in total
length which indicates the size of the opportunity. The Korea
Resources Corporation ('KORES') estimated 2.34M tonnes at some
7.3g/t Au garnered from 57 drill holes over 17,715.3 metres.
With additional sampling, mapping, pit modelling and grade
analysis, plus the fact that Gubong is an orogenic deposit, which
typically have a depth of 2km compared to the current depth of
500m, the Board believe it has a geological potential of 1 million
+ oz Au in-situ, plus an estimated additional 300,000 oz Au from
satellite ore bodies.
Kochang is an epithermal vein
deposit with parallel vertical ore bodies covering 8.3 sq km that
reportedly produced 110,000 oz of gold and 5.9 million oz of silver
between 1961 and 1975. Consisting of a gold and silver mine,
there are currently four main veins and several parallel subsidiary
veins vein which have been identified, as well as a newly
identified cross-cutting vein. Historic drilling indicates the
veins continue to depth below the current 150m mine and mapping
shows the veins on surface providing potential above and below the
old workings. The veins extend to the NE providing a strike length
of 2.5km with 600m between the two mines not exploited. There
is potential to expand operations to the southwest/northeast and to
depth, as well as exploit the already mined areas. The total
resource potential is between 550,000 and 700,000 tonnes, with a
range of grades between 5.2 g/t to 6.6 g/t gold, and 27.3 g/t to
34.8 g/t silver. Following the granting of a Mountain Use
permit, there is an estimated 6-to-9-month development time to
trial mining.
Batangas is a 1,160-hectare licence
with a 25-year Mineral Production Sharing Agreement ('MPSA')
granted. The Project has a current JORC compliant resource of
440,000 ounces, including a maiden ore reserve of 128,000 ounces
(including silver credits) as well as multiple additional targets
providing extensive resource upside. Exploration expenditure to the
tune of c.$20m has already been invested.
Work is focused on completing
Exploration and Environmental Work Programmes initially targeting
the high-grade 1,164-hectares Lobo licence. This has an
initial Probable JORC Compliant Ore Reserves of 171,000 tons at 6.6
g/t for 36,000 ounces of gold excluding silver credits based
primarily on the South West Breccia ('SWB') area of the licence
that can be mined in the first 18 months of any operation.
There is an Indicated resource of 82,000 oz Au that is perceived as
easily convertible. Additionally, the area has multiple
epithermal and high-grade targets already identified for resource
expansion with 15km of identified mineralised structures with
results across the nine identified targets yielding excellent
results. These include 2.1m @14.4g/t Au and 3m at 12.1g/t at
West Drift, which already has an Indicated and Inferred resource of
350,000t at 3 g/t Au, 8.35m at 18.3 g/t Au and 6.0m at 31.2 g/t Au
located immediately west of the SWB Extension, 19m surface channel
sample with intersections of 19m grading 9.8 g/t Au at Ulupong and
trenching at Limestone Target yielded 3.5m at 25.9 g/t Au including
1.5m at 56.8 g/t Au.
