Great Western Mining Corporation AIM:GWMO, the AIM-listed mining and metal refinery company operating in Nevada reported this morning (14th December) that it has struck gold in its M5 Jack Springs concession in Mineral County, Nevada.
The exploration company reported that it had found a 1km strip of anomalous gold at a grade of more than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of gold. The exploration results also indicated several further continuous zones of higher grade at 25ppb Au.
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Further data indicates that the geology in the region is polymetallic and samples of 5.14 grammes per tonne (g/T), 1,246g/T and a 0.32% sample of copper were found on the tenement. Outlier soils also showed several zones where high gold concentrations of more than 100ppb were locates within the area with soil results of 246ppb, 145ppb, 130ppb.
Strong target for exploration
Brian Hall, chairman, said: “These new results over the M5 prospect on the Jack Springs claims have identified another strong target for exploration on the Great Western claims. We are seeing the benefits of intensive and continuous geological field work over the spring, summer and autumn of this year and are very excited by the laboratory results at a number of prospects. The results of this field work […] underline our belief in the great potential of our 60 km² of claims in the prolific Walker Lane Belt of Nevada.”
The programme has now identified a zone 1,500m long by 400m wide containing several corridors of anomalous gold which is open as it reaches the edge of surrounding overlying tertiary lavas. Two disconnected areas of sampling, taken over small window zones in the tertiary cover, are also broadly anomalous, suggesting a more widespread sub-cropping zone. It is likely that the anomalous gold continues beneath the tertiary lavas and is not limited to the sampled zone.
The gold results follow up promising copper results from Great Western Mining’s Huntoon Valley concession. The company said that it has uncovered virgin reserves in the area where a significant area of granite outcrop has been newly mapped near the centre of a copper anomaly identified during previous soil sampling and 100 localities with visible surface copper oxide mineralisation have been mapped.
Promising copper results
The copper sites include a resource of copper (M2) established on the Black Mountain claims with further potential open in several directions, the M4 prospect in the Jack Springs, with a copper intercept in one drillhole and surface copper oxide showings, to the south of M2 and West Huntoon southwest of M2, at which a single hole has been drilled containing both copper and gold intercepts.
Hall said: “Great Western has been working hard in this area for several years now but the work carried out in 2023 has the potential to transform the company, should a major porphyry be established, in a world transitioning from hydrocarbons where copper will become increasingly important. This is an exciting development for Great Western.”
Great Western Mining doesn’t just want to dig holes in the ground, it wants to get into the bullion business and as previously reported are close to completing construction on a refinery that will process the metals from its site into gold and silver bars and copper ingots, as well as take in raw metal from other miners in the district.
Great Western has a two-pronged approach to mining and will be digging vertically and horizontally. It has several concessions as previously reported across the Nevadan desert including historic mine works, spoil heaps and tailings, which Great Western think are mineralised and would be a ‘quick win’ for the miner.
Great Western Mining refinery close to operation
The infrastructure works on the refinery are now complete, a generator is being commissioned this month and the last pieces of heavy machinery are in the process of being installed. Wells have been drilled that will provide an excess of water.
Great Western Mining said that operationally the plant is ready to go before the end of the year, but the JV is still awaiting environmental permitting from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection. Great Western was initially informed by the regulator that this process, which started at the beginning of the year, would take six months to complete. However, the regulator at the end of the six-month timeframe contacted the JV to say that it was short-staffed and its staff was overworked, so the process would take at least another two-to-three months.The extension came and went, but the regulator still hasn’t produced the paperwork. Great Western Mining scheduled a meeting with the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection and were told that the hold-up wasn’t due to there being any significant issues with the refinery, but down to administrative over-stretch and the JV would just have to sit and wait it out. Other bits of paperwork, including the licence from the Federal Bureau of Land Management permitting the moving of wastes and material are still outstanding, again due to administrative backlogs.
Great Western Mining has been on AIM since August 2011 and opened trading today at 0.048p, and is down nearly 60% over one-year with its shares ranging between 0.04p and 0.15p over a 52-week period giving the company a market capitalisation of GBP2.6m.
The slew of positive news from Nevada, and the prospects of its side-hustle refinery coming on in the first quarter should see a significant ramp of the Dublin-based miner’s share price in 2024.
