3rd Jul 2014 08:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ortac Resources Ltd Thursday said it has restarted underground mining at the ?turec deposit in Slovakia, marking a return to underground operations at the Soviet-era mine, which has been closed for nearly 20 years.
The news comes less than a month after the Slovak Central Mining Bureau approved the company's application to begin trial underground mining at Sturec.
The AIM-listed exploration and development company with assets in Slovakia and Eritrea said extracted ore will be used for further test work, which will help determine the longer term development of the deposit and the economy of the Kremnicko region.
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," Chief Executive Vassilios Carrellas told Alliance News on Tuesday. "The project represents a new way of developing modern natural resources projects across Europe."
Ortac Resources shares were up 10% to 0.275 pence during early trading on Thursday.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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