Great Western Mining Corporation PLC (AIM - GWMO, Euronext Growth - 8GW), which is exploring and developing multiple early-stage gold, silver and copper targets in Nevada, USA, is pleased to provide an update on its Western Milling gold and silver processing project.
Highlights
Concrete work ongoing. Process equipment at location
Special Use Permit now granted with NDEP approval expected August 2023
Guidance on plant capacity and anticipated recoveries
Independent calculations of material available for processing
First revenues expected this year
Background
In 2022 Great Western formed Western Milling LLC, a 50-50 joint venture ('JV') with Nevada-based mining contractor Muletown Enterprizes to construct a mill for processing precious metals. Great Western's claims in the Walker Lane Trend of Nevada are not only prospective for gold and silver but also have large volumes of spoil and other material from historic mines, particularly at the Mineral Jackpot and Olympic Gold properties, which are available for processing into precious metals through this mill. The material consists of tailings, multiple spoil heaps and a stockpile of mined material which has never previously been processed, independently evaluated. Further material is widely dispersed over Great Western's 60km-2 of claims and has yet to be assessed, while the JV may also buy in material from third parties. Phase one of the project consists of gravity separation and phase two will use contained chemical leaching for further recovery. The mill is currently under construction and is due to be producing gold and silver concentrates this year
Joint Venture
Under the JV agreement, Muletown is providing a mill site on private land, a large inventory of plant and equipment and supervision of construction. Great Western is financing the construction and commissioning of the mill and has the funds available to meet this commitment. The mill site is located adjacent to a major north-south highway close to the settlement of Mina, Mineral County, Nevada, approximately midway between Great Western's Mineral Jackpot and Olympic Gold properties. Mains power and water are available and there is ample space for the laydown of material awaiting process. Each partner has its own raw material available for processing which will be batch-processed and not commingled, except where the JV itself decides to buy in third party material and process it jointly. The JV will be a profit centre and earn a throughput fee from whoever owns the material being processed
Construction Status
Groundwork at the mill site commenced in February 2023 but further progress was delayed by an extended late recurrence of severe winter weather conditions. With improved conditions, concrete is currently being set and should be completed in the next few days. As well as initial gravity separation, the design of the mill caters for the requirements of the leaching operation which is planned as a second phase. When the concrete work has been completed, the team will assemble and install the mill plant and equipment. Virtually all the equipment needed is now available and located close to the mill. A simplified flow diagramme of the plant design has been uploaded to the Company's website under the 'Priorities / Production' section.
Costs & Revenues
Plant capacity will be up to 5 tonnes per hour of feedstock but there is likely to be an initial period of lower volumes before the plant is running consistently. Plant capacity can subsequently be increased in excess of 5 tonnes per hour when needed with only minor investment and without a commensurate increase in operating expense. The recoverable tailings at Olympic Gold alone are estimated to be 31,000 tonnes. The main operating costs at the mill are labour, power and water. The plant will be manned by a minimum of two operatives, for safety reasons, possibly supported by a third during busy periods. The JV's aim will be to operate the mill for 70 or more hours per week for plus or minus 48 weeks per year to allow for maintenance and possible weather downtime. In the early stages there may be downtime while the plant is fine-tuned or modified. The mill's end-product will be a gold and silver concentrate which will be sold in bulk to a refinery, with an expectation that approximately 90% of the final gold and silver value will be obtained. Further information will be provided as the construction project progresses
Great Western Chairman Brian Hall commented: 'At the end of 2020 we produced a dore bar from waste material collected at Mineral Jackpot. Since then, we have established a working production partnership, identified and evaluated greatly increased volumes of material for processing, found an ideal site and are now constructing a mill which will produce precious metals this year. This is a transformational move and an exciting time for Great Western, aimed at producing first revenues and funded directly by shareholders without recourse to any special financing arrangements which could have created a burden for the Company. In parallel we have a busy season of exploration across our numerous prospects, on which we will be reporting in due course'.
Contact:
Tel: +44 207 933 8783
GREAT WESTERN MINING CORPORATION PLC 
