Bluebird to inject new life into old South Korean gold veins
LONDON – Asia-focused mine developer Bluebird Ventures, with venture partner Southern Gold, plans to reopen South Korean gold mines closed decades ago and is aiming for profits of around $100/t, Bluebird's CEO said.
The mines closed in the late 1960s and 1970s when the gold price was less than $140/oz, making them uneconomic, compared with more than $1 300 now.
Colin Patterson, CEO of Bluebird, said in an interview his focus was on the Gubong and Kochang mines, which are established assets, rather than exploration projects, making them more attractive to risk-averse London investors.
Bluebird's London share price has risen nearly 9 percent this year as it added Kochang to plans which already included the Gubong mine.
Patterson said the company's aim was to report on the feasibility of reopening the mines by the end of the second quarter and the joint venture agreement, making it the operator, would then be concluded.
Bluebird will then build a proof-of-concept plant with a view to a net profit of $100/t, scaling up to 200 tonnes per day and eventually 1 000 t/d.
Four years from now, Patterson said production should be 50 000 oz/y.
"The broader aim is to be the pre-eminent mine developer in South Korea and to bring back to life the towns of Gubong and Kochang," Patterson said.
Southern Gold this month issued a statement saying it was suspected that "much of the mineralisation that was considered waste in the 1970s is now likely economic".
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation