EMED Mining’s Biely Vrch gold project receives 'exclusive deposit' certificate

EMED Mining’s (LON:EMED) Biely Vrch gold project in Slovakia has been awarded "exclusive deposit" status by the Slovakian State Commission for Classification of Mineral Resources, marking the first statutory step of the permitting process.
                           
The "exclusive deposit" classification gives priority to the land being used for mining activities over all other land uses. The company and its environmental consultants can now proceed with preparing the Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment.

Furthermore, EMED told investors that its contractor, AMC Consultants, has completed an updated Scoping Study which takes into account community consultation and project refinements, with a new site selected for ore leaching along with the detailed design of the entire site layout. According to EMED the preferred site and its topography will reduce the impact on the community. Also, enhanced environmental protection measures have been incorporated into the design.

"The revised Scoping Study for Biely Vrch has provided a much better understanding of our development options. We are now scheduling the next phase of the permitting process along with the associated community consultation and development feasibility studies”, EMED Mining MD Harry Anagnostaras-Adams stated.
“In parallel, we are continuing to explore our large licence area in central Slovakia and are conducting due diligence on synergistic opportunities in the region."

The company noted that the revised design has increased the capital cost, with the total initial capital cost estimate increasing from US$45m to approximately US$64m. However, operating costs have been also been reduced, from an estimated US$590/ounce to US$530/ounce. EMED highlighted that further operating cost improvements may emerge following the geotechnical drilling, which is currently underway.

EMED sees potential savings if the planned pit slopes can be steepened in part of the designed mine. The company said that steepened slopes would be enable access to additional high grade ore by deepening the planned pit, without a significant increase in waste material.

The revised Scoping Study has re-affirmed the attractive economics of developing a mine at Biely Vrch - based on gold prices of >US$1,000/ounce.

Overall, EMED acknowledged that the Biely Vrch scoping study’s parameters remain essentially unchanged at this stage including: mining 3Mtpa of ore at a waste-to-ore ratio of 1:1; a recovered grade of 0.6 to 0.7g/t gold;   producing approximately 60,000 ounces per annum for 10 years.

The company emphasised that Biely Vrch has additional drill-confirmed potential below the current Mineral Resource - 41.7Mt at 0.79g/t gold, containing 1.1Moz - and this depth potential will be evaluated further after progressing the open-cut mine towards development, particularly  the relatively higher grade core of the deposit, which increases in grade with depth and remains open at depth.

Separately, EMED noted that MD Harry Anagnostaras-Adams and EMED Slovakia MD Dr Demetrios Constantinides have been invited to participate in industry committees as part of The European Association of Mining Industries - Euromines.

Euromines committees provide support for the Raw Minerals Initiative of the European Union to promote and facilitate Europe's access to minerals and the resurgence of the mining industry in Europe.

"EMED Mining has a strong commitment to the responsible development of metal production operations in Europe. The weakening of European economies and of the euro itself enhances the political importance and also the economics of the company's projects. Biely Vrch can potentially be developed safely and responsibly for the benefit of all stakeholders”, Harry Anagnostaras-Adams added.

Elsewhere, in its other operations, EMED is working towards the resrat of the Proyecto Rio Tinto (PRT) in the Andalucía province of southern Spain. The PRT copper mine is slated to re-start in Q4 2010 and with production scheduled to begin in 2011.  The mine has a JORC-compliant mineral resource of 205Mt (million tonnes) at 0.46% copper for 0.95Mt of copper.

Last month, the company updated investors relating to the PRT permitting, being submitted to the relevant regulatory authorities of the Junta de (Government of) Andalucía. These submissions are being finalised in line with the schedule outlined in the permitting roadmap announced in December 2009. This work has involved regular consultation and interaction between the EMED Mining team, its technical consultants and the authorities where appropriate.

The combined efforts of those various experts have led to many improvements being designed into EMED Mining's plans for restarting PRT. The restart submissions will now be based on an extended mine life of 14 years along with commitments to exploration drilling to be carried out in the first three years.  This exploration is targeted at doubling the current ore reserves.