Bluebird Merchant Ventures Limited Bluebird Kochang Mine Update (0958G)

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RNS Number : 0958G

Bluebird Merchant Ventures Limited

02 November 2018

2 November 2018

Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd

(the "Company" or "Bluebird")

Bluebird Kochang Mine Update

Bluebird Merchant Ventures (LSE: BMV), the Asian focused resource development group, is pleased to announce the completion of its farm-in expenditure commitment into the Kochang mine. It expects to present its report to the Joint Venture ("JV") partner, Southern Gold (ASX:SAU) within the next five weeks.

Highlights:

   --      Bluebird has completed required Kochang expenditure for JV 

-- Company locates and finds accessible open mining areas at the Kochang silver mine adjoining the gold workings which were in a good condition. This is highly encouraging as it is similar to the gold production areas that the company has successfully re-established

Bluebird has completed its obligatory farm-in expenditure on the Kochang Mine as part of the initial JV agreement (announced on 13 June 2018) with Southern Gold.

The report on the feasibility of reopening the Kochang mine, the final requirement of the farm-in process, is expected to be submitted to Southern Gold about 2 weeks after receiving the metallurgical testwork results. The test work is expected to be finalised in the next 3 weeks.

As reported in a prior RNS (on 23 May 2018), surface exploration work confirmed the continuation of the mineral structures in the 600 metre gap between the historical gold and silver workings. Bluebird is pleased to announce that it has located the lowest level of the silver workings (which were abandoned 45 years ago) and made an initial assessment of the silver mine. These workings reportedly produced some 5 million oz of silver before its closure in 1975. The level above the lowest access point to the mine was found to be open, though the lowest access point to the mine will require a couple of days work to clear the surface subsidence. Importantly for future mining, two stopes (ore extraction areas) were observed and found to be subvertical (very steep) in dip and still standing open. This both demonstrates the highly competent host rock, also observed in the gold mine and allows for mine cleaning after blasting to be mostly by gravity, which is much cheaper than using mechanical scrapers.

Colin Patterson, CEO, commented:

"The company is highly satisfied with the progress made at Kochang It appears to us to be a mine with great potential and we look forward to the formation of the Joint Venture and to publishing some of the very encouraging results from our work in the last year.

"Our latest observations at the Kochang silver workings give us a good indication of conditions we can expect in bringing the mine back into production.

"We will update the market with our further progress in due course."

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION EU 596/2014 ("MAR")

Enquiries:

 
 Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd         [phone] 
 Jonathan Morley-Kirk, Non-Executive 
  Chairman 
  SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP 
   Ewan Leggat 
   Smaller Company Capital Ltd           + 44 (0) 20 3470 0470 
   Rupert Williams /Jeremy Woodgate       [phone] 
 
 Blytheweigh                            [phone] 
 Tim Blythe / Camilla Horsfall 
  / Julia Tilley 
 

www.bluebirdmv.com

@BluebirdIR

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November 02, 2018 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)