Eurasia Mining plc (LON:EUA) has had the Russian equivalent of a pre-feasibility study for its Semenovsky gold tailings project (STP) in Bashkiria, Russia approved by the local mines department.
Eurasia, which is partnered on the project by resources investor Metal Tiger (LON:MTR), has started metallurgical work with five holes drilled in to the tailings dam and samples being prepared for analysis.
Christian Schaffalitzky, Eurasia’s managing director, said approval of the TEO of Conditions [the PFS equivalent] was a major step forward at Semenovsky.
Plant construction at Semenovsky is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter this year subject to satisfactory completion of remaining due diligence and timing of final permits, he added.
A draft TEO of Conditions was submitted in February outlining the extraction process for the gold and silver reserves. A reserves report was part of the application and this is now being approved, Eurasia said.
Discussions are underway over a proposed industrial scale bulk sampling program using a nearby operating mine, said the company.
Eurasia and Metal Tiger signed an option over a 67% stake in Semenovsky last November.