23rd Jun 2016 07:30
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aureus Mining Inc shares rose on Thursday morning after the company said authorities in Liberia have given the green light for operations at the New Liberty gold plant to be restarted.
Aureus shares were up 9.4% to 4.24 pence per share on Thursday morning.
Aureus was forced to suspend plant operations at its New Liberty gold mine on May 10 after problems with a circuit and heavy rainfall caused a "small overflow" from its tailings facility, with the leak from its facility mainly impacting the surrounding wetland area without causing any injuries or fatalities to individuals.
Aureus has continued to mine ore during the suspension but that is having to be stockpiled as it can not be processed through the plant until operations restart. The current ore stockpile stands at 122,186 tonnes graded at 3.88 grammes of gold per tonne of ore.
Following an investigation and an evaluation of the company's plan at New Liberty, the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy has now approved the start-up of the processing plant.
Aureus said a larger gravity screen has been installed with the aim of optimising performance and increasing gravity gold recovery whilst the detoxification circuit has been upgraded, adding that "operation changes" has been made to the tailings storage facility which should allow its to retain water for longer periods of time, it said.
A full ball mill reline and lifter upgrade has also been undertaken prior to plant restart.
The miner said the plant will be restarted gradually, starting with low grade ore of less than 2.0 grammes of gold per tonne before ramping up the throughput and grade.
The suspension was also a contributing factor to the company's funding woes, but Aureus addressed that last week after it raised USD30.0 million from MNG Gold, a gold exploration firm with assets in Turkey, Burkina Faso and Liberia, which now holds a 55% stake in Aureus.
"The company now has adequate funding available to support working capital needs and preparations are underway for the commencement of the plant pre-start procedure, which will be initiated following the arrival of a consignment of additional reagents that the company is working to expedite to site," sauid Aureus on Thursday.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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