REG - Bluebird Merchant - South Korea Update

Bluebird Merchant VenturesAnnouncement

12/06/2024 07:15

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RNS Number : 0851S  Bluebird Merchant Ventures Limited  12 June 2024

Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd / EPIC: BMV.L / Market: FTSE / Sector: Mining

12 June 2024

Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd

('Bluebird' or 'the Company')

 

South Korea Update

 

Advancing plans to bring two South Korean gold mines back into production

 

Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd, a gold project development company, is pleased
to announce an update on the Board's visit to South Korea with regards to
advancing the Gubong Gold Mine ('Gubong') and the Kochang Gold and Silver Mine
('Kochang').

 

Bluebird Executive Director Aidan Bishop has spent the last week in South
Korea meeting with the Company's new local JV partner, which is investing US$5
million into Gubong (see RNS dated 7 May 2024). The two parties discussed the
optimal path to advancing the project, the relevant community programmes that
need to be initiated and discussed land area for mine access as well as
meeting with the relevant local landowner.

 

With regards to Kochang, discussions regarding a potential JV with the same
consortium that invested in Gubong are at an advanced stage, and the team is
confident of a positive conclusion in the near future with legal drafting
underway.

 

Kochang is recognised as the easier of Bluebird's two projects in South Korea
to bring into production.  It is an 8.3 sq km epithermal high grade vein
deposit with a c.2.5km strike of which 600m between the two mines has not been
exploited. It produced c.110,000 oz Au (19.6g/t) and 5.9Moz Ag (1,000g/t) from
1961-1975 and has a Non JORC estimate 550-700Kt, grading between 5.2-6.6 g/t
Au and 27.3-34.8 g/t Ag.  The team has an estimated production target of
c.10-15koz pa and believes there is significant potential to expand operations
laterally and at depth as well as exploit already mined areas.

 

Bluebird CEO Colin Patterson said, "Our recent trip to South Korea was highly
successful. Having hit the ground running at Gubong with our new partner,
engaging in discussions about development plans, the role of our geological
team, and community programmes, we now hope to finalise a similar joint
venture for Kochang to secure free carries on all our high-grade gold
projects. These are exciting times for Bluebird, and I look forward to sharing
further updates in the near future on developments across all three of our
projects."

 

**ENDS**

 

For further information please visit https://bluebirdmv.com or contact:

Jonathan Morley-Kirk    Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd
              Email: jmk@bluebirdmv.com
(mailto:colin@bluebirdmv.com)

Nick Emerson                  SI Capital
                                     Tel: 01483413500

 

About Bluebird

Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (BMV.L) is a London listed gold development
company. It is led by a team of proven mine rehabilitation experts, and
currently has two 100% owned licensed high grade narrow vein mining projects,
the Gubong Gold Project ('Gubong') and the Kochang Gold and Silver Project
('Kochang'), which each have a defined route to low cost/ low capex production
with a cumulative target of producing 100,000 oz + Au per annum.

 

The management team has invested cUS$2 million personally into the Company and
believe, following analysis of historic production and exploration data, as
well as extensive sampling, geological, geophysical, and engineering studies,
there is potential for in excess of 1.5 million oz of mineable gold in its
Korean projects alone.

 

Gubong, which was historically the second largest gold mine in South Korea has
9 granted tenements covering c.25 sq km.  Gubong is moderately dipping with 9
veins extending 500m below surface and known to extend at least a further
250m. However, the production opportunity for Bluebird prior to looking at
deepening the mine is the 25 levels already developed with all the remnants
and unmined areas left by the original miners.  The 25 levels extend over
120km in total length which indicates the size of the opportunity. The Korea
Resources Corporation ('KORES') estimated 2.34M tonnes at some 7.3g/t Au
garnered from 57 drill holes over 17,715.3 metres.  With additional sampling,
mapping, pit modelling and grade analysis, plus the fact that Gubong is an
orogenic deposit, which typically have a depth of 2km compared to the current
depth of 500m, the Board believe it has a geological potential of 1 million +
oz Au in-situ, plus an estimated additional 300,000 oz Au from satellite ore
bodies.

 

Kochang is an epithermal vein deposit with parallel vertical ore bodies
covering 8.3 sq km that reportedly produced 110,000 oz of gold and 5.9 million
oz of silver between 1961 and 1975.  Consisting of a gold and silver mine,
there are currently four main veins and several parallel subsidiary veins vein
which have been identified, as well as a newly identified cross-cutting vein.
Historic drilling indicates the veins continue to depth below the current 150m
mine and mapping shows the veins on surface providing potential above and
below the old workings. The veins extend to the NE providing a strike length
of 2.5km with 600m between the two mines not exploited.  There is potential
to expand operations to the southwest/northeast and to depth, as well as
exploit the already mined areas. The total resource potential is between
550,000 and 700,000 tonnes, with a range of grades between 5.2 g/t to 6.6 g/t
gold, and 27.3 g/t to 34.8 g/t silver.  Following the granting of a Mountain
Use permit, there is an estimated 6-to-9-month development time to trial
mining.

 

Additionally, the Company has the highly prospective Batangas Gold Exploration
Project in the Philippines, where it has an agreement with a Philippine
company, whose owners have decades of experience in mining, to develop the
Project.  The JV covers the entire Batangas Project area, which has a current
JORC compliant resource of 440,000 ounces, including a maiden ore reserve of
128,000 ounces (including silver credits). Exploration expenditure to the tune
of c.$20m has already been invested.  Work is focused on completing
exploration and environmental work programmes initially targeting the
high-grade Lobo area, although there is excellent exploration potential across
the licence with high-grade targets already identified and 14km of identified
mineralised structures.  The staged agreement is based on the JV partner
achieving defined development goals and provides Bluebird with a free carry on
the development of Batangas with a view to advancing to construction.

 

 

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