Great Western Mining Corporation PLC (AIM - GWMO, Euronext Growth - 8GW), which is exploring and developing gold, silver and copper targets in Nevada, is pleased to provide the following operational update.
2023 WORK SEASON
Great Western's team is now in Mineral County, Nevada, preparing for the start of drilling operations and the 2023 exploration programme. The team is being strengthened by the addition of a new fulltime geologist, a US citizen who will be permanently based in Mineral County. First drilling will be on the OMCO Mine prospect at the Olympic Gold project, to follow up the 2022 discovery of an extension to the previously mined OMCO vein, expected to commence in April when weather and ground conditions permit.
MILL CONSTRUCTION
It is now several weeks since groundwork was completed at the site of the Company's 50%-owned milling joint venture in Mina, Nevada and the next stage is currently waiting on suitable weather conditions for pouring concrete, due to a recurrence of severe weather conditions this month. As previously announced, all permit applications have been filed with the authorities and approval is awaited, timing of which is outside the Company's control. Virtually all equipment needed for the assembly of the plant is now available and there are unlikely to be significant delays in the overall programme as a consequence of the extended winter
REVIEW OF M2 COPPER POTENTIAL
As previously announced, the Company has been conducting an extensive review of its copper prospects during the winter, including the area known as M2 located in the Black Mountains group of claims. At M2, a JORC-compliant independent report in 2018 established a copper resource, partly inferred/partly indicated, of 4.28 million tonnes at a grade of 0.45% Cu1 . This is a large resource at a significant grade but falls short of the tonnage required for commercial development. Included in the 2018 JORC-compliant independent resource report were the following two statements
As the areas referred to in (1) and (2) above have not yet been drilled, they are categorised as Exploration Targets in JORC terminology and cannot be categorised as Resources. The recent review of all available data, taking into account the independent report on M2, has re-emphasised the exciting potential for M2 which could far exceed the Resource already reported. If these independently calculated Exploration Targets prove to be correct, the Resource and the Exploration Targets together at M2 could become 14.3 - 21.3 million tonnes at 0.4 - 0.6 % copper, being several times larger than the existing Resource. Such an increase would be transformative for Great Western, but in addition it should be noted that the 1.5 km strike-length copper Resource at M2 lies within a 6.5 km belt of along-strike potential which is all within the Company's claims, open to the northeast and southwest as well as down-dip to the southeast. The strongest IP anomaly, as yet undrilled, is located to the southwest of the existing Resource under tertiary lavas. To the northeast, where tertiary lavas do not obscure the host sequences, surface showings of copper occur for a further 1.5 km on Great Western's claims.
Brian Hall, Executive Chairman commented: 'In-depth work over recent months has made our copper potential look ever more interesting and we are actively seeking a development partner for M2. Once we have completed our studies of the Huntoon Valley and the Eastside Mine copper prospects, we will report on these as well. Great Western's near, medium and longer term objectives remain (1) completing the mill facility and bringing it on to production (2) continuing the search for precious metals and pinning down a discovery for development and (3) ensuring that the potential upside of the Company's copper prospects is maximised. Importantly, once the mill is producing we will become a revenue and cash generating business and we look forward to keeping shareholders informed on progress.'
Contact:
Tel: +44 207 933 8780
The Company has a large tract of acreage in Mineral County, Nevada. The area consists of rugged, mountainous terrain, which means that large parts of it remain under-explored. Mineral potential is hosted by the regional Walker Lane Structural Belt, the largest structural and metallogenic belt in Nevada, yet one of the least explored in recent times, with gold, silver and copper currently produced in Mineral County. Great Western has seven distinct concession areas which offer the potential for exploiting (1) short term gold and silver deposits and (2) long-term, world-class copper deposits. Six of the Company's properties are in the west of Mineral County and are 100% owned and operated. The Company has an option to acquire a seventh property, the Olympic Gold Project, in the east of the county. Great Western's small exploration team is supported by locally based consultants and contractors. The state of Nevada is generally considered to be one of the world's most mining friendly jurisdictions. While tightly regulated and environmentally conscious, Nevada welcomes the mining industry. Great Western takes care to ensure that its claims are maintained in good standing and all regulations observed. There are numerous gold and silver prospects on the Company's acreage, including extensive historic mine workings which offer the opportunity for secondary recovery. The Company is party to a 50-50 joint venture known as Western Milling LLC which is constructing a mill to process pre-mined material for secondary recovery of gold and silver. Furthermore, through extensive drilling over a five-year period, GWM has established a Mineral Resource on its first target area known as M2, of 4.3 million tonnes at 0.45% copper, for 19,000 tonnes of contained copper metal. This resource has been independently reported in accordance with JORC guidelines
GREAT WESTERN MINING CORPORATION PLC 
