24th Jul 2014 12:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ortac Resources Ltd Thursday said the first phase of its trial underground mining programme at the ?turec deposit in Slovakia has been completed.
The AIM-listed exploration and development company with assets in Slovakia and Eritrea said the recent underground mining operations at the site have led to the extraction of roughly 400 tonnes of ore from the Andrej exploration part of its deposit.
The company said the core extracted will primarily be used for metallurgical testing to help determine the longer term development of the ?turec deposit and the benefits to the economy in the Kremnicko region. As such, mining activity has now been suspended.
"The ore that has been mined is sufficient in quantity to carry out any additional bulk-scale metallurgical test work that may be requested as we work with the local communities in crafting future plans for ?turec," Chief Executive Vassilios Carellas said in a statement.
The news comes after Ortac restarted underground mining at the ?turec deposit in early July, marking a return to underground operations at the Soviet-era mine, which has been closed for nearly 20 years.
Ortac plans to batch process gold and silver mineralisation at a processing facility nearby, which will not only help develop the asset but also satisfy certain conditions to maintain its mining licence on site.
To prepare for underground mining at Sturec, the company recently took channel samples from its phase I development zone. The tests returned high grade gold and silver intercepts of up to 78 grams per tonne of gold and 72 grams per tonne of silver in a 1.5 metre long channel sample.
The company has also been working on a regional development plan in conjunction with local parties in order for the mine to be welcomed into a region where underground mines can often be seen as part of a by-gone era.
"Dialogue is key to developing a mine in such a beautiful region where locals can often be sceptical over the benefits it will receive from companies taking precious metals out of the soil," Carrellas told Alliance News earlier this month. "The project represents a new way of developing modern natural resources projects across Europe."
Ortac Resources shares were up 2.0% to 0.250 pence on Thursday.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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