​​Placement and Convertible Loan Financing to Further Advance the High-Grade Reward Gold Mine

Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) - Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) (OTCMKTS:VTXXF) is pleased to announce that it has commenced tabling gold concentrate with this material being prepared for sale.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Vertex's first gold concentrate has been run over the Wilfley table to undergo final concentration with coarse and fine gold evident. This concentrate was produced from material processed during commissioning of the plant. Final weights and grades will be announced once the gold has been sold.

- Vertex have the option to sell gold in concentrate or dore bars, by nature of the gravity process at this plant.

- Commissioning of the gravity plant is ongoing with some further components being introduced to the plant to improve performance, they are:

o A pre-screening scalper has been installed to reduce fines in the system and

o A centrifuge is being installed to extract slimes/fines from the process water.

- Fines are a consequence of surface stockpile weathering over time. This issue is only isolated to the surface stockpile material which is in the weathered zone. The Reward underground material will be fresh and have far less weathered material.

- Samples of the stockpile material have averaged 2.40g/t (refer to Table 1* in the Appendices)

Vertex's Executive Chairman, Roger Jackson commented: "The commissioning of the stockpile material has presented some challenges with the way the old stockpile material breaks down and has initiated intermittent blockages, which has hindered the commissioning process which otherwise has gone very well. Our technical team and operators are solving the problem by minimising the fine material into the process and dropping out the fines from the process water. We are very pleased to know the feed grade material sampled from the stockpiles are averaging 2.40 g/t which is consistent with previous test work and bulk sampling. It is important to note that our main game is mining the Reward gold mine material which is very high grade and hasn't been weathered like the stockpiles so does not present these processing hinderances."

Vertex's Technical Director, Tully Richards commented: "Further testing of low grade stockpile material, to be fed into the gravity plant, continues to reflect earlier reported trenching and bulk sampling exercises with grades of 2.40g/t returned from the most recent exercise".

*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/V140L838

About Vertex Minerals Limited:  

Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) is an Australian based gold exploration company developing its advanced Hargraves and Hill End gold projects located in the highly prospective Eastern Lachlan Fold Belt of Central West NSW. Other Company assets include the Pride of Elvire gold project and Taylors Rock gold/nickel/lithium project both located in the Eastern Goldfields of WA. The focus of Vertex Minerals is to advance the commercial production of gold from its NSW projects embracing an ethical and environmentally sustainable approach.

Source:
Vertex Minerals Limited

Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) - Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) (OTCMKTS:VTXXF) is pleased to announce that it has completed commissioning of the ore sorting module of the Reward Gold Mine ahead of schedule, with final commissioning works on the gravity gold room circuit continuing.

Vertex's Executive Chairman, Roger Jackson commented: "The ore sorter is exceeding our expectations and has been integrated into our gravity plant circuit perfectly. Its pleasing to see this plant up and running with only the minor tweaks to be undertaken by the Gekko commissioning team to move the plant to nameplate operation. We are looking forward to capitalising on this robust gold market."

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Ore sorter pre concentrator commissioning now complete at the Hill End gravity gold plant. Reward gold mine ore sorts perfectly, with 79% mass reduction and 337% increase in gold grade in the 8mm to 50mm range. (refer to VTX ASX announcement 11 of September 2024).

- TOMRA's LASER sorting technology (Sorter) separates gold bearing quartz ore from waste (slate & greywacke) before it enters the processing plant. Refer to Figure 1*.

- Commissioning of the gravity plant is ongoing with some further components being introduced to the plant to improve performance.

- Gold concentrate is now being produced and reporting to the concentrate hopper ready for tabling in the gold room.

- Training of Vertex operators by Gekko Technicians is progressing well.

- The plant recycles a significant amount of process water and an increasing volume of fines that builds up in process water while running continuously has been experienced during the commissioning process. The build-up of this fine material reduces the efficiency of the classifying process and impacts on plant throughput. Vertex is installing a slurry classifier and a prescreening scalper to reduce this buildup of fine material in process water. Vertex believes that the increased presence of fine material in the stockpiles is a result of weathering of the rock over time. Vertex and Gekko are working through this issue and Vertex expect to announce first commercial production shortly.

- The Wilfley table, used for increasing the grade of gold in concentrate is undergoing some minor modifications to improve efficiency of concentrate handling. A Gemini table will also be installed this week to provide a cleaner final concentrate.

- Vertex have the option to sell gold in concentrate or dore bars, by nature of the gravity process at this plant.

- Vertex is moving toward the commencement of underground mining with the ordering of a development jumbo and procurement longer lead time of plant and equipment.

The inclusion of ore sorting technology positively impacts on the sustainability and profitability of Vertex's Reward Gold Mine by:

- Providing significantly higher-grade ore to the gravity recovery plant, reducing feed tonnage, plant running time and operator hours;

- Reducing energy & water consumption, with

- lower operating costs and

- reduced carbon footprint.

Sorting also significantly reduces the volume of process residue (sand) leading to further ESG benefits and cost savings.

*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/J5G7G2NF

About Vertex Minerals Limited:  

Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) is an Australian based gold exploration company developing its advanced Hargraves and Hill End gold projects located in the highly prospective Eastern Lachlan Fold Belt of Central West NSW. Other Company assets include the Pride of Elvire gold project and Taylors Rock gold/nickel/lithium project both located in the Eastern Goldfields of WA. The focus of Vertex Minerals is to advance the commercial production of gold from its NSW projects embracing an ethical and environmentally sustainable approach.

Source:
Vertex Minerals Limited

Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) - Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) (OTCMKTS:VTXXF) is pleased to announce the appointment of experienced mining executive Sean Richardson as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

Details of Mr Richardson's qualifications and experience are as set out below.

Commenting on the appointment, Chairman Roger Jackson said:

We are delighted to have Sean joining the Vertex Board at such an exciting time for the Company as we transition into high-grade gold production from stockpiles at Reward and beyond. He brings a wealth of relevant experience and we expect him to supplement the existing Board and Management team well.

SEAN RICHARDSON

MEng MSc MBA FAusIMM MEIAust GAICD

Sean Richardson is a mining professional with a career spanning over 30 years. Mr Richardson experience extends from operations through to consultancy and managerial roles where he has been involved in the exploration and development of mineral projects in Australia, North America, Africa, South-East and Central Asia.

Mr Richardson's notable roles include Managing Director of Empire Resources (ASX:ERL), Chief Operating Officer for Bardoc Gold (ASX:BDC) and Operations Manager for Shaw River Manganese (ASX:SRR).

Mr Richardson is passionate about the mining industry and its role in the advance of society, an enthusiasm that has led Mr Richardson to a seek out and attain greater knowledge of the global minerals industry.

Mr Richardson holds a Master of Engineering Technology (Mining Engineering), a Master of Business Administration (Curtin), a Master of Science in Mineral Economics (WASM), a Graduate Diploma in Mining (WASM) and an Advanced Diploma in Engineering and Mine Surveying (TAFE).

Mr Richardson is also a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM) and a Member of Engineers Australia (MEIAust).

About Vertex Minerals Limited:  

Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) is an Australian based gold exploration company developing its advanced Hargraves and Hill End gold projects located in the highly prospective Eastern Lachlan Fold Belt of Central West NSW. Other Company assets include the Pride of Elvire gold project and Taylors Rock gold/nickel/lithium project both located in the Eastern Goldfields of WA. The focus of Vertex Minerals is to advance the commercial production of gold from its NSW projects embracing an ethical and environmentally sustainable approach.

Source:
Vertex Minerals Limited