Advancing plans to bring two South Korean gold mines back into production.
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd, a gold project development company, is pleased to announce an update on the Board’s visit to South Korea with regards to advancing the Gubong Gold Mine (‘Gubong’) and the Kochang Gold and Silver Mine (‘Kochang’).
Bluebird Executive Director Aidan Bishop has spent the last week in South Korea meeting with the Company’s new local JV partner, which is investing US$5 million into Gubong (see RNS dated 7 May 2024). The two parties discussed the optimal path to advancing the project, the relevant community programmes that need to be initiated and discussed land area for mine access as well as meeting with the relevant local landowner.
With regards to Kochang, discussions regarding a potential JV with the same consortium that invested in Gubong are at an advanced stage, and the team is confident of a positive conclusion in the near future with legal drafting underway.
Kochang is recognised as the easier of Bluebird’s two projects in South Korea to bring into production. It is an 8.3 sq km epithermal high grade vein deposit with a c.2.5km strike of which 600m between the two mines has not been exploited. It produced c.110,000 oz Au (19.6g/t) and 5.9Moz Ag (1,000g/t) from 1961-1975 and has a Non JORC estimate 550-700Kt, grading between 5.2-6.6 g/t Au and 27.3-34.8 g/t Ag. The team has an estimated production target of c.10-15koz pa and believes there is significant potential to expand operations laterally and at depth as well as exploit already mined areas.
Bluebird CEO Colin Patterson said, “Our recent trip to South Korea was highly successful. Having hit the ground running at Gubong with our new partner, engaging in discussions about development plans, the role of our geological team, and community programmes, we now hope to finalise a similar joint venture for Kochang to secure free carries on all our high-grade gold projects. These are exciting times for Bluebird, and I look forward to sharing further updates in the near future on developments across all three of our projects.”