Great Western Mining Corporation AIM:GWMO, the AIM-listed mining and metal refinery company operating in Nevada updated the market on the progress it is making with the construction of its refinery.
The Dublin-headquartered miner said that the construction of its mill site was now complete, which included the installation and commissioning of a gravity separation unit and generator. Great Western said that it intends to upgrade the generator to mainline three-phase power from the local utility company in due course.
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As previously reported, the fly in Great Western’s ointment was the delay in securing environmental permitting for the refinery from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection.
Over the last half-year there was a litany of excuses given by the regulator as to why permitting for Great Western’s new refinery was not forthcoming, including lack of staff.
Permit granted
However, the regulator has now granted a permit allowing Great Western Mining and its 50:50 joint venture partner, haulage contractor, Muletown Enterprises, to move materials from remote locations to the refinery site.
That said, Great Western is still waiting on environmental permits to start refinery operations and has submitted an application for a licence to conduct stage-2 leaching operations at the refinery, which is still outstanding.
Although the company promised to have the refinery up-and-running by the end of 2023, the slow nature of gaining regulatory approvals has continually kicked the can down the road for Great Western and its partner.
The refinery will, once operational, process 35 tonnes of material a day. Great Western will initially process materials from its own historical tailings and slag heaps before taking in materials from other mine sites locally. Once the processing plant is fully operational, Great Western Mining said that it will systematically increase it processing capacity to 200 tonnes-per-day.
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Great Western Mining hurry-up-and-wait scenario
The company said that it’s now in a hurry-up-and-wait scenario with regards to the acquiescence of the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, having complied with the required environmental stipulations, saying that these guidelines: “have been rigorously observed and in some cases exceeded.”
The company said that the Nevadan regulator, which is still suffering from staffing issues, has prioritised Great Western’s application.
Great Western opened the week at 0.054p, and is down 53% over one-year and up 31.7% over one month, with its shares ranging between 0.04p and 0.13p over a 52-week period giving the company a market capitalisation of GBP2.9m.
It has been a waiting game for Great Western Mining investors, but the finish line must now be in sight. As reported, the miner is starting to discover new areas of virgin metal in its tenements, to add to the inventory of gold in its existing tailings and should eventually be able to deliver on its promise of profitability. Surely the share price should start to recover as the year progresses.