Vast Resources (AIM:VAST ) has been granted the Manaila Carlibaba Exploitation Licence, which will allow the group to re-examine the exploitation of the mineral resources within the larger Manaila Carlibaba licence area in Romania.
The group said the Manaila Carlibaba exploitation perimeter contains a JORC 2012 compliant Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of 3.6Mt holding copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver with 1.0Mt of inferred mineral resources.
The 3.6Mt contains grades of 0.93% copper, 0.29% lead, 0.63% zinc, 0.23g/t (grams per tonne of milled ore) gold and 24.9g/t silver while the 1.0Mt contains grades of 1.10% copper, 0.40% lead, 0.84% zinc, 0.24g/r gold and 29.2g/t silver.
The enlarged exploitation licence is 138.6 hectares in size, an increase of 410% in surface area from the existing exploitation license at Manaila (27.2 hectares), the group noted.
Shares in Vast Resources opened down 3.7% in early trading following the news..
This could allow for a larger mining and processing facility to be developed on site as well as eliminate the need for ‘costly’ road transport of mined ore to the current processing facility located at Iacobeni, around 30 kilometers away.
The company noted that the transportation element has increased the operational cost of the Manaila, which is currently on care and maintenance, by around 25-30%.
Preliminary studies by Vast have indicated the potential for a new open pit mine to exploit mineral resources to a depth of around 125 meters below surface and to simultaneously develop a smaller higher-grade underground mine below the open pit mineral resources.
Immediate access for the underground section can be provided from the existing open pit at Manaila by developing adits (horizontal mine entrances) from the high wall of the open pit.
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