LONDON (Alliance News) - Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd on Friday said its initial test shipment of copper concentrate had higher gold grades than expected, and it is currently negotiating pricing with the copper smelter given the higher grades.
Bluebird Merchant, a Philippines-focused resource company which owns an interest in a gold project in the Philippines, said the initial shipment of copper concentrate had a gold value of 6.56 grams per tonne, which was higher than expected. Testing of the second shipment also indicated higher values, of 12.17 grams per tonne and 14.83 grams per tonne, Bluebird Merchant said.
The group said it was therefore setting up on on-site laboratory to determine the grade and make-up of all ores coming to the plant prior to processing, although noted that the plant already has most of the equipment to fit out the laboratory, meaning costs are "not significant". The work is expected to be completed by the end of June.
Bluebird said it has also dispatched samples of different ores which could be supplied to the plant from different mine sites, for mineral analysis to determine if further processing will result in higher recoveries of concentrate.
Bluebird added it will meet with the copper smelter towards the end of the month and is currently negotiating pricing given the higher than expected gold grades.
"Whilst the company does not consider any revenue from the test shipment to be material, the pricing benchmark will give the company guidance on future potential revenue of various ore types and grades," Bluebird Merchant said.
Shares in Bluebird Merchant were up 13% at 4.25 pence on Friday morning.
By Hannah Boland; hannahboland@alliancenews.com; @Hannaheboland
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Bluebird Mer (BMV)