Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (LON:BMV), the Asia-focused resource development group, is pleased with progress at its Gubong and Kochang projects in South Korea.
In a brief update detailing its strategy for the fourth quarter of 2018, the company said it expects to receive the necessary permissions this year to start ramping up physical work at the Gubong mine.
READ Bluebird Merchant Ventures close to completing farm-in requirements at the Kochang gold project
The emphasis over the fourth quarter will be on opening up more of the mine and reviewing the potential tailings dam project. Furthermore, suitable sites for the process plant will also be evaluated, Bluebird said.
At Kochang, Bluebird anticipates that it will soon be able to update the market on the progress of its joint venture with Southern Gold.
Metallurgical test work is in progress and the results are expected by the end of October. Bluebird expects to submit the feasibility report on Kochang to Southern Gold by the end of October 2018. The feasibility reports are high-level reports outlining the path towards reopening the mines and bringing about production.
Less than US$20,000 of remaining farm-in expenditure at Kochang is outstanding, Bluebird revealed.
Bluebird has appointed Joseph Lee as president of the joint venture company. He has spent the last five years in the Korean mining sector managing relations with government, corporate and community stakeholders.
Graeme Fulton, who joined Bluebird in April 2017, will be the general manager of the Gubong project. Fulton has been involved in the mining industry for more than thirty years including as a mining engineer and general manager.
“We are especially pleased to welcome Joseph to our team and are very glad that Graeme has accepted the position of general manager,” said Colin Patterson, the chief executive officer of Bluebird.
“Their wealth of experience will further strengthen our already highly capable team. I look forward to working with them to reach our targets at both Gubong and Kochang. Furthermore, I will enjoy the chance to update the market as to our progress in the coming months," he added.
Shares in Bluebird were up 2.1% at 2.4p in early deals.