Heavy summer rain slows down dewatering at Alba Mineral gold mine

Wed, 16th Aug 2023 11:46

(Alliance News) - Alba Mineral Resources PLC on Wednesday said it needs more time to complete dewatering at one of its mines after this summer's "exceptionally heavy rainfall."

Shares in the London-based mineral exploration company, which runs projects in England and Wales, were down 11% at 0.11 pence in London this morning.

Alba said dewatering at its Clogau-St David's gold mine in north Wales had been successfully undertaken to around six metres depth.

However July and early August saw "exceptional and unseasonably heavy rains" which Alba said were "some three times higher than the average for the time of year," resulting in reflooding at the Lower Llechfraith workings (which had previously been flooded for the past two to three decades).

Alba said this meant that the permissions granted by National Resources Wales in July have proven insufficient to allow the completion of the dewatering at the base pumping rate

"While it may be possible to complete the dewatering exercise... under the existing abstraction permit, this would be expected to take a considerable length of time and require a cessation of the exceptional rainfall events which have been seen in recent weeks," Alba explained.

Alba was previously pumping 100 metres cubed of water per day for 16 consecutive days, before switching to 30 metres cubed per day until 2030. It is now seeking a temporary variation to its existing permits, to allow it to recommence pumping at the higher volume rate.

"In the meantime, the company is also applying for formal permit variations to allow for long-term abstraction and discharge at higher rates," Alba added. "While NRW has indicated that it is not minded to grant a temporary variation, the company continues to make formal representations in that regard."

Alba also noted generally improved results from portfolio company GreenRoc Mining PLC, in which it holds a 42.97% stake.

GreenRoc said on Wednesday that its pretax loss for the half year ended May 31 narrowed to GBP417,000 from GBP484,000 the previous year. Its basic and diluted loss per share likewise narrowed to 0.35p from 0.43p.

GreenRoc also said operations were "progressing well" at its flagship Amitsoq graphite project in northern Greenland.

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

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