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LONDON (Alliance News) - Natural resources sector investor Bluebird Merchant Ventures PLC on Wednesday said Red Mountain Mining Ltd has published a pre-feasibility study for the Batangas gold project in the Philippines.
Bluebird owns a 25% stake in the Batangas project, with an option to increase this to 50.1%.
The pre-feasibility study showed Batangas will generate USD34.0 million in free cash flow in its first seven years in production, Bluebird said. The upfront capital costs for the project have been estimated at around USD16.0 million, including a new processing plant.
The maiden open-pit ore reserve estimate was 128,000 ounces of gold, including 100,000 ounces at 4.2 grams per tonne.
Bluebird Chief Executive Charles Barclay said the study confirmed the economic viability of the project and said the next focus will be on delivering a definitive feasibility study.
Bluebird shares were down 2.3% to 3.91 pence Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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