Nov 17 2015
Trecora Resources, today announced formal approval of new licenses for the Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Company (AMAK) zinc and copper mine in Saudi Arabia. The Company is the original developer and a 35% owner of AMAK, a Saudi Arabian joint stock company.
The approval includes an additional 151 square kilometers (km2) of territory contiguous to AMAK's current 44 km2 mine. The new territory comprises the Guyan and Qatan exploration licenses covering 151 km2, and within the Guyan exploration license, a 10 km2 mining lease, which has potential for significant gold recovery. AMAK received notification of final approval of the new licenses and lease on November 11, 2015.
Simon Upfill-Brown, Trecora's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The approval of the new licenses and leases has been anticipated for some time, and the additional property significantly increases the long-term value of AMAK. AMAK has development plans that aggressively leverage the larger asset base, and reflect our confidence that the mine will provide significant value to Trecora Resources' shareholders for many years to come."
The 10 km2 mining license in Guyan covers an area containing multiple ancient gold mines that are shallow and surrounded by tailings from previous efforts to extract the metal. AMAK expects to be able to process gold from the ancient tailings in Guyan using existing equipment in the short term, providing significant incremental cash flow. The exact tonnage available to be processed has not been precisely determined at this time. However, the ancients were unable to recover much of the gold from the ore which was extracted, and preliminary tests indicate the tailings could contain anywhere from 6 to 11 grams of gold per ton.
"AMAK continues to work aggressively towards improving operating efficiency and recoveries, reducing chemical inputs and reducing cost across the board to ensure profitability at low commodity prices," said Mr. Upfill-Brown.
Source: http://www.trecora.com/