Charlie Gibson, Head of Mining at Edison Research is joined by Charles Barclay, COO of Bluebird Merchant Ventures.
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (AIM:BMV) has Gold mining interests in both South Korea and the Philippines.
The Gubong mine closed in 1971 when the gold price was USD 40/oz and the Kochang mine closed in 1975 when the gold price was USD 140/oz. The main reason mines close is due to them being uneconomic over a prolonged period. The present gold price is USD 1,320 /oz. This means that much of what was uneconomic at the time of closure may now be payable.
Reopening old mines is both faster and cheaper when compared to the time and cost of bringing exploration projects to production. An independent report on the Gubong Mine that was previously published on 26 January 2018 stated the potential of more than one million ounces of gold are still to be mined at Gubong. The historical drill results previously announced on 3 October 2017 showing high grade intersections below 500m ranging up to 522 g/t with a width of 0.3 metres demonstrates that the structure of the ore body likely continues at depth. The Directors believe that the grades will also increase at depth which may suggest that the Gubong mine could operate for many years beyond current resource estimates.
The Company has to spend USD 500,000 on each project and produce reports on the feasibility to reopen the Gubong and Kochang mines which will then form the basis of two 50:50 joint ventures with @SouthernGoldASX
