TIDMGEO
RNS Number : 7402Y
Georgian Mining Corporation
24 August 2018
Georgian Mining Corporation / EPIC: GEO / Sector: Natural
Resources
24(th) August 2018
Georgian Mining Corporation ('GEO' or the 'Company')
2018 Technical Work Program and In-House Review of Kvemo Bolnisi
Au-Cu Project
Georgian Mining Corporation announces a progress report on
technical work being carried out on the Kvemo Bolnisi East
gold-copper project ("KBE"), in preparation for resource infill and
development drilling, infrastructure sterilisation drilling, and
commencement of the feasibility study.
Mike Struthers, Chief Executive Officer said:
"Whilst we wait for the approvals for the exploration permits, I
am pleased that our team in Bolnisi is using its time
constructively to prepare for the work ahead. The recent work has
been updating pit optimisations at KBE and developing new concepts
for layouts of surface facilities and haulage routes to the
processing facilities at the neighbouring operations. These have
all been done internally and are particularly interesting as we are
now starting to see what the future KBE operation will actually
look like. And all of this is also contributing to the future work
programme.
"In respect of the exploration permits, the Company has recently
held meetings at senior levels with Government to highlight our
application and the urgency to have this resolved. Given the
excellent support that we have in Government circles for the
Company and our application, we remain very confident that we'll
get the positive news we are seeking and will be able to re-start
work soon.
"I want to thank our existing shareholders for their
considerable patience while we strive to resolve this
situation."
The focus of the recent work has been on:
A resource model review and modelling training for increased
in-house capabilities
Much of the resource modelling and estimation work for the
Company in the past has been done externally, but there are
significant advantages in terms of the creative processes and
quality control if a large component of this can be done in-house,
whilst still maintaining independent review and Competent Person
sign-off for any formal resource updates or other material
reporting. Recent training in geological modelling of the targeted
low sulphidation epithermal systems and in resource modelling and
estimation have resulted in a team who are now able to fully
utilise their knowledge of the mineralised system in producing a
more robust and flexible resource model suitable for engineering
optimisation.
The KBE mineralised system has been reviewed in detail and work
is now extending to introduce geo-metallurgical factors into
resource models.
All of the above allows the upcoming infill drilling to be
optimised for maximum benefit to improve model confidence in
preparation for mine optimisation and feasibility studies.
An in-house engineering review of the KBE project, including pit
optimisation and production scheduling sensitivity studies.
The technical team based in Bolnisi has been further
strengthened by the addition of an experienced Georgian mining
engineer with strong regional and international experience on
resources, reserves and planning studies in these types of
projects.
In-house engineering expertise enables the Company to accelerate
production planning and scheduling scenarios designed to:
-- Increase understanding of the anticipated project footprint
as a base for mineral inventories used for initial pit
optimisations, including production scheduling and sensitivity
studies.
-- Develop concepts for the future operation in terms of on- and
off-site infrastructure required, most notably the haul road from
KBE to the Madneuli plant. This improves estimations of costs, and
ensures the ESIA covers all aspects of the operation in line with
international best practice.
-- Understand the potential scale of the project as a combined
gold oxide/copper sulphide open pit, including future-proofing for
potential upside from resource expansions following the planned
infill and KB exploration drilling.
-- Optimise the design of infill and infrastructure
sterilisation drilling for a range of possible open pit scenarios
based on input sensitivities.
Developing concepts for pit designs and surface infrastructure
in parallel with the infill drilling programme and in advance of
the Feasibility Study will ensure the latter is well designed and
future-proofed for the expected size of operation. It also allows
other investigatory work to be carried out as early in the project
development schedule.
Interesting observations from the studies to date:
-- An important aspect of the planning and review process has
been to confirm how the oxide gold material at surface best adds
value to then allow expanded open pits on the primary copper-gold
material.
-- The vertical control on the primary copper-gold sulphides
tends to create discrete open pits to extract each mineralised
"core" but this provides focus for drill testing of potential
mineralisation between the vertical structures which will support
expanded mining scenarios.
-- Resource expansion on the KBE prospect has shown that the
operation rapidly increases in size and scale with targeted
drilling confirming the geological model.
Examples of the resource expansion and prior and new pit
optimisations are shown below:
(To view the figures below, please refer to the PDF version of
the announcement which can be found by following this link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7402Y_1-2018-8-23.pdf
Figure 1 - A single open pit optimisation shell on an early
resource model comprising the CZ1 zone including minor oxide gold
surface material.
Figure 2 - Additional resource drilling through 2017 defined the
GZ1 gold oxide and GZ2 copper-gold sulphide resource (as reported
previously). This significantly extended the gold oxide resource
and resulting open pit.
Figure 3 - Initial planning work within the total mining area
then allows discrete designs and schedules for mining of the oxides
prior to expanding into the gold-copper sulphide mining
scenario.
Figure 4 - Also, as part of the overall planning process a
preliminary haul road to the Madneuli treatment facility has been
designed (shown above in orange, and below) as a basis for improved
estimation of capital and operating costs.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.georgianmining.com or
contact:
Mike Struthers Georgian Mining Corporation Company Tel: 020 7907
9327
Ewan Leggat S. P. Angel Corporate Nomad & Broker Tel: 020 3470
Finance LLP 0470
Soltan Tagiev S. P. Angel Corporate Nomad & Broker Tel: 020 3470
Finance LLP 0470
Damon Heath Shard Capital Partners Joint Broker Tel: 020 7186
LLP 9950
Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh PR Tel: 020 7138
3224
Simon Woods Blytheweigh PR Tel: 020 7138
3204
About Georgian Mining Corporation
Georgian Mining Corporation has 50% ownership and operational
control of the Bolnisi Copper and Gold Project in Georgia, situated
on the prolific Tethyan Belt, a well-known geological region and
host to many high-grade copper-gold deposits and producing mines.
The Bolnisi concession covers an area of over 860 sq km and has a
30-year mining licence with a variety of targets and projects
ranging from greenfield exploration / target definition phase
through intermediate target-testing phases to more advanced
projects including KBE which will advance to Feasibility Study in
2018. These projects are proximal to several advanced projects and
existing mining operations owned by the Company's joint venture
partner, and their sister production company. Georgia has an
established mining code and is a jurisdiction open to direct
foreign investment.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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