Ortac Resources (LON:OTC) has already made contingency plans for the banning of the use of cyanide leaching technology in gold processing in Slovakia.
On Friday, September 12, 2014, the Slovak parliament approved an amendment to the Slovak Mining Law relating to gold processing, but Ortac, which has three exploration licences in Slovakia, assured investors that tests using alternative methods to cyanide leaching have already been carried out by the company’s technical team.
At present, 20 tonnes of material mined from the Šturec deposit in central Slovakia have been sent for pilot scale tests using a potential alternative gold recovery process that the board believes will be economic.
The company said it remains committed to the Šturec project and will continue to work with the community and the Slovak state, for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Investors remained nervous, however, and the shares were down 18% in mid-morning trade.