LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / August 18, 2020 / NQ Minerals Plc (AQSE:NQMI, OTCQB:NQMLF, OTCQB:NQMIY) ("NQ" or the "Company") announces that the average grade to date of 3.2 grams per tonne of gold has been returned from extensive surface stockpiles located on the Company's 100% owned Beaconsfield Gold Mine ("Beaconsfield") in Tasmania, Australia.
Whilst work is underway for the refurbishment of Beaconsfield's 350,000 tonne per year capacity gold processing plant, the NQ geology team has embarked on an exploration programme of the multiple surface stockpile sites located within the wider Beaconsfield mining lease, to identify initial ore feed for the plant for when the plant becomes operational around the end of this year.
A new and exciting development for NQ has been the discovery that excellent gold grades exist in approximately 80,000 tonnes of surveyed stockpiles in the area called the historic Wetlands area, that are due east of the Beaconsfield townsite.
To date, 105 samples taken from these stockpiles have returned an average gold grade of 3.2 grams per tonnes of gold. Sampling will continue over the entire stockpile sites, to determine the full extent of the contained gold in this area. There is potential to expand this area of interest considerably over the coming months and full tonnage and grade results will be published when this exploration work is completed.
Initial metallurgical gold recovery test work also indicates standard Carbon-in-Leach ("CIL") recoveries of between 83% - 90% can be achieved with relatively short residence times of less than 12 hours. The Beaconsfield processing plant is equipped to treat the material with its CIL circuit. The material does not require crushing or grinding due to its very fine composition.
About the Beaconsfield Gold Mine
The Beaconsfield Gold Mine has historic recorded production of c.1.8 million ounces of gold averaging c.15 grams per tonne (c.1⁄2 ounce per tonne). NQ acquired Beaconsfield in June 2020 and the Company plans to re-open the mine operations as soon as practicably possible.
On May 7, 2020, NQ also announced a new JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of the lower section of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine of 1.454 million tonnes grading 10.3 grams per tonne (g/t) for 483,000 ounces of gold. Significant additional gold potential is still to be assessed in the upper section of the old Beaconsfield Mine (Tasman Reef) workings and its parallel unexplored reefs, plus the orebody remains open at depth.
NQ Mineral's Chairman, David Lenigas, said; "The revelation that significant gold exists in these stockpiles is a tremendous boost for the Company's Beaconsfield Gold Mine re-opening plans. Our engineers are now working on budgets and timelines to bring the Plant's CIL circuit back on-line as soon as possible to treat this material. These high-grade surface stockpiles are only a short trucking distance from the plant and will provide valuable low-cost high revenue plant feed much sooner than we originally envisaged. The removal of these stockpiles from the Wetlands area will also be the start of a process of rectifying a long standing environmental issue in the town by cleaning up old mine waste placed in this area over the last 120 odd years and returning the area back to its natural pre-mining state."
Competent Person's Statement (NQ Minerals Plc)
The information in this report that relates to the Beaconsfield Gold Mine is based on information compiled by Roger Jackson, an Executive Director of the Company, who is a 25+ year Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM) and a Member of Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mr. Jackson has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Mr. Jackson consents to the inclusion of the data contained in relevant resource reports used for this announcement as well as the matters, form and context in which the relevant data appears.
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About NQ Minerals
NQ Minerals Plc is listed on London's Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) under the ticker NQMI and has it's 1:100 ADR traded on the US OTC QB under ticker NQMIY and its ordinary shares are dual traded on the US OTC QB under the ticker NQMLF.
NQ Minerals operations are in Australia. NQ commenced base metal and precious metal production in 2018 at its 100% owned flagship Hellyer Gold Mine in Tasmania. Hellyer has a published JORC compliant Mineral Resource estimated at 9.25 Mt which is host to Gold at 2.57 g/t Au for 764,300 oz Au, Silver at 92 g/t Ag for 27,360,300 oz Ag, Lead at 2.99% Pb for 276,600 tonnes and Zinc at 2.57% Zn for 217,400 tonnes. In addition to these resources, the Hellyer assets include a large mill facility and full supporting infrastructure, including a direct rail line to port. The Company is also planning to re-open the historic high-grade Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania, which has a JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.454 Mt at 10.3 g/t Au for 483,000 ounces of gold. Regular updates on the progress of the Hellyer Gold Mine and Beaconsfield can be found on www.nqminerals.com.
For more information, please contact:
NQ Minerals plc
David Lenigas, Chairman
Colin Sutherland, Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
Tel: +1 416 452 2166 (North America)
Media Enquiries
IFC Advisory Limited
Graham Herring / Tim Metcalfe
Tel: +44 (0) 203 934 6630 (United Kingdom)
Corporate Adviser
First Sentinel Corporate Finance Limited
Brian Stockbridge / Gabrielle Cordeiro
Tel: +44 (0) 207 183 7407 (United Kingdom)
Corporate Broker
VSA Capital Limited
Andrew Monk/ Maciek Szymanski
+ 44 (0) 203 005 5000 (United Kingdom)
The Following section relates to NQ Minerals Plc's news releases distributed in the United States:
Cautionary Note to US Investors
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") permits US Mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. Any estimates of mineral resources shown in this press release or on NQ Minerals PLC's website have been prepared in accordance with definition standards of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves produced by the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee, which may differ from definition standards of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Industry Guide 7. We may use certain terms which the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit US registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections, including those related to our growth strategy, mineral estimates and any other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated are: risks related to our growth strategy; risks relating to exploration, development and/or extraction; our ability to obtain, perform under, and maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; our ability to attract, integrate, and retain key personnel; global demand for mineral resources; our need for substantial additional funds; government regulation; as well as other risks. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.
SOURCE: NQ Minerals Plc