Reward Gold Mine and Company Update
Perth, Nov 27, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Vertex Minerals Limited (
ASX:VTX) (VTXXF:OTCMKTS) is pleased to announce a further update on the Reward Gold mine start up.
HIGHLIGHTS
- All major components are now installed and fitted at the Reward Gold Mine Gravity Plant.
- Electrical fit out is well underway.
- Piping and water reticulation is ongoing.
- Tails lines are being laid to the dry sand stack location.
- Plant power up is planned for mid-December.
- General Manager and other key personnel have commenced employment.
- Ore Sorter structure is under construction and will be installed in January
- The plant will be commissioned on stockpiles located at the plant prior to the Ore Sorter installation.
- Road infrastructure upgraded.
- Portal entry and ore handling area refurbished and expanded.
- Vertex on track for January commissioning of the plant.
Mobilisation of the Gravity Plant from Ballart to site commenced earlier this month (as announced 13 November 2024), with all major components now onsite, installed and fitted at the Gravity Plant. Fitout of ancillary services (including electrical and water) is well underway, with completion and initial powering-up scheduled for mid-December 2024.
All Civil Works for this stage, including the upgrading and refurbishment of Road Infrastructure, portal entry and the ore handling area are also complete.
Ore Sorter and Forward Plan
Compelling results from Ore Sorting testwork (including a 337% increase in grade and 79% mass reduction) as announced on 25th July 2024, resulted in a decision to incorporate pre-concentration into the flow sheet and design for the Hill End project (as announced 11 September 2024). Construction of the Ore Sorter structure has commenced, with installation expected in January 2025. Installation of the Ore Sorter is not expected to delay plant commissioning, with initial processing of existing stockpiles located at the plant location to commence prior to installation and commissioning of the Ore Sorter.
Corporate and Financial
On 7 November 2024, Shareholders voted to approve the second tranche of the Company's 2-tranche share placement announced in mid-August 2024. All funds for the second tranche have been received and allotment is expected shortly.
The Company's Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled for 29 November 2024 and resolutions include approval for the conversion of loan funds received under the capital-raising announced in October 2024. Various option issue approvals were granted in the 7 November Meeting and are being sought at the AGM and a prospectus for the issue of those options is being prepared.
On 27 May 2024 the Company announced that it had signed a terms sheet with Ocean Partners for a US$10M Prepayment Facility, subject to conditions precedent. Following on from the revised mine design and Gravity plant flow sheet, because of the decision to utilise an ore sorter, the capital expenditure required to develop the mine was significantly lowered. A facility of this size is no longer expected to be required by the Company and the parties have agreed that the proposed arrangement will not be completed, with no penalty to the Company. The Company is in negotiations with several parties in relation to a significantly smaller debt or prepayment facility.
Commenting on the progress, Vertex Executive Chairman Roger Jackson said: "We are very excited by the progress that has been made with the Gravity Gold plant installation at our mine ready Gold project.
The installation is well ahead of the time we had scheduled, which has helped recover the time lost due to weather with the civil construction. We are hopeful we can now power the plant up for testing in just a few weeks. We then can commission the plant with the gold ore stockpiles we have sitting at the plant.
I would commend Gekko and our Hill End team for their efforts with this installation."
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About Vertex Minerals Limited
Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) is an Australian based gold exploration company developing its advanced Hargraves and Hill End gold projects located in the highly prospective Eastern Lachlan Fold Belt of Central West NSW. Other Company assets include the Pride of Elvire gold project and Taylors Rock gold/nickel/lithium project both located in the Eastern Goldfields of WA. The focus of Vertex Minerals is to advance the commercial production of gold from its NSW projects embracing an ethical and environmentally sustainable approach.
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