June 30 (SeeNews) - UK-based Vast Resources said on Tuesday that it has been granted an exploitation licence for the Manaila Carlibaba extension project in Romania, which will allow the company to re-examine the area for mineral resources.
The Manaila Carlibaba exploitation perimeter contains measured and indicated mineral resource of copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver, Vast Resources said in a press release.
The enlarged exploitation licence is 138.6 hectares in size, an increase of 410% in surface area from the existing exploitation licence at Manaila, which covers an area of 27.2 hectares.
This could allow for a larger mining and processing facility to be developed on site and would eliminate the need for costly road transport of mined ore to the current processing facility located at Iacobeni, approximately 30 km away. The transportation element increased the operational cost of the Manaila, currently on care and maintenance, by approximately 25-30%, the company explained.
Preliminary studies made by the company indicate the potential for a new open pit mine to exploit mineral resources to a depth of approximately 125 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 horizontal mine entrances from the high wall of the open pit.
Earlier this month, Vast Resources announced that it expects to make the first sale of copper concentrate produced at its Baita Plai polymetallic project in Romania in late August.
The company will use part of recently raised funding of 1.48 million British pounds ($.183 million/1.64 million euro) to cover the first month’s production at Baita Plai until the first sale of concentrate, it said at the time.
The company’s Romanian portfolio includes an 80% interest in the Baita Plai polymetallic mine and the Manaila polymetallic mine, which was commissioned in 2015, currently on care and maintenance.
(1 GBP =1.1071 euro)