LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Nativo Resources reported further progress at its Bonanza gold mine in Peru on Tuesday, saying trenching, sampling and access rehabilitation work is advancing ahead of a planned restart of small-scale mining before the end of the year.
The AIM-traded company also identified new potential ore-shoot targets across its wider Tesoro concession as part of a separate technical review.

At Bonanza, the surface trenching campaign along the main vein has been completed, with 20 trenches excavated at 25-metre intervals to depths of up to 1.5 metres.

Each trench was logged, structurally measured and sampled at one-metre intervals, with the resulting material now being prepared for dispatch to the Certimin laboratory in Lima.

The work would feed into updated geological sections, longitudinal profiles and mineralised-shoot modelling, which will guide underground targeting and mine planning.

Rehabilitation of the mine's access infrastructure was also underway.

A full topographic survey of the shaft collar, access path and first underground platform has been finished, and engineering design had started on ladders, platforms, ventilation and water-management systems.

All support materials for the first phase of rehabilitation had been procured and delivered to site.

Preparations to upgrade the central camp, which would service both the Bonanza and Morrocota mines, were progressing, with accommodation capacity being doubled to 40 people, new power and water systems installed and a Starlink communications link being established.

The company said prospective mining-contractor visits had begun following last month's tender request, with bidders assessing site conditions ahead of submitting formal proposals.

Field activities, including underground work, were scheduled to continue over the next two weeks as Nativo moves toward completing the Bonanza vein study and resuming production.

A concession-wide study also identified five new potential ore shoots within the 300-hectare Tesoro concession, confirming multiple veins previously mapped as Zone Central and Zone Este, with surface grades of up to 10 g/t gold.

"Preparations to re-open the Bonanza mine are advancing at pace," said chief executive Stephen Birrell.

"We look forward to providing further updates upon completion of the Bonanza Vein Study and are targeting a resumption of mining operations before year-end.

"In parallel with this we have identified five new ore shoots which merit detailed study for their potential to add further mining capacity on the concession."

At 1325 GMT, shares in Nativo Resources were up 2.17% at 0.35p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE