Velocity Completes PEA, Earns Large Stake in Bulgaria Project

Velocity Minerals (TSXV:VLC) has completed a positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Rozino open pit gold project, earning a 70-percent stake in the Bulgaria project, the company announced on Monday (September 17).

The PEA was based on an open pit mining operation at Rozino, which recovers gold by a combination of on-site preconcentration in a flotation plant and further processing to saleable gold doré in an existing carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant.

“We have achieved our goal of advancing Rozino from discovery and exploration drilling through to this positive economic assessment in just over one year,” said Keith Henderson, president and CEO.

The company notes that the mine, which will require an estimated US$97.6 million to develop, has the potential to produce about 65,000 ounces of a gold a year at an all-in sustaining cost of US$543 per ounce.

On the financial side, the PEA model returned an after-tax net present value of US$129 million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 33.1 percent.

“We believe that there is significant potential for resource expansion at Rozino and additional exploration drilling is expected to be completed over the coming months in tandem with infill drilling of the existing mineral resource,” Henderson stated.

He explained that the work which has been completed at Rozino represents a first step in Velocity’s strategy of exploring and developing multiple satellite deposits for processing in the existing centrally located CIL plant.

The company reported that it is currently in the process of completing due diligence on other advanced properties located within the exploration and mining alliance area, with the goal to earning 70-percent interest through additional option agreements with the company’s partner Gorubso.

“The aim is to build a multi-asset production profile that maintains annual production of more than 100,000 ounces of gold over a period in excess of ten years,” Henderson said.

As of 10:52 a.m. EST on Wednesday (September 19), Velocity was trading at C$0.15.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.