Major news from the management of progress in mining gems
INITIAL PRODUCTION OF EMERALDS AND COMMENCEMENT OF BULK SAMPLING PROGRAM AT THE COSCUEZ EMERALD MINE
Fura Gems Inc. has commenced its bulk sampling program at the Coscuez emerald project in Boyaca, Colombia.
Key highlights:
Fura owns a 76-per-cent beneficial interest in the Coscuez emerald mine, which covers a total area of 46 hectares.
The bulk sampling program has been initiated, and a total of 30,000 tons of material from the mineralized body are expected to be collected in the first phase of the program on or before Dec. 31, 2018, using existing tunnels.
The main purpose of the bulk sampling program is to collect the most representative samples from the mineralized body at different levels from all accessible tunnels and workings within the Coscuez emerald mine.
Data collected from the program will then be modelled to permit Fura to better understand the mineralized grade and prepare a mining plan.
During the initial phase of bulk sampling, a total of 1,720 carats of emeralds were mined, out of which 826 carats were high-quality emeralds.
Since February, 2018, the company has been upgrading the safety standards at the Coscuez emerald mine to create a safe environment for the commencement of the bulk sampling program.
Detailed geological and topographic survey programs have been initiated, and to date, 24 historical workable tunnels, consisting of 17 kilometres, have been surveyed and mapped out of 23 km.
The Fura management team has started designing the pilot wash plant to support the bulk sampling process with a rated capacity of 30 tons per hour, and the company expects such plant to be commissioned on or before June 30, 2018.
Dev Shetty, president and chief executive officer of Fura, commented: "Fura has achieved an important milestone by commencing the bulk sampling mining operation at the Coscuez emerald mine within eight weeks of the completing the acquisition of the mine.
"The initial production of 1,720 carats of emeralds, including 826 carats of top-quality emeralds, during the early stage of the program, further confirms the quality of the Coscuez emerald mine. We will continue to build our geological knowledge of the licence area and also strive to modernize the Coscuez emerald mine. Fura has now become the first publicly listed company in the world to commence a bulk sampling operation in Colombia, the world's largest supplier of emeralds."
About the Colombia emerald mine
The Coscuez emerald mine licence covers an area of 46 hectares and includes exclusive rights for the exploration, construction and mining of emerald deposits granted by the government of the Republic of Colombia. The Coscuez emerald mine is located within the area historically known as the Coscuez mine in the municipality of San Pablo de Borbur, department of Boyaca.
The Coscuez emerald mine has been in operation for over 400 years. It is recognized worldwide as it has produced renowned pieces like the 1,759-carat Guinness emerald, believed to be one of the largest gem-quality crystals, and the pieces found in the Spanish crown, as well as collections from India and the Ottoman Empire, and others which continue to be discovered in diverse archeological findings, such as the San Jose galleon.
Historically, the Coscuez emerald mine has been operated on a small-scale basis with the development of various tunnels over the licence area. A total of 40 tunnels were created at various levels, but the previous owners mainly focused on the La Paz tunnel at the 900RL level (zero level) -- 88 metres below La Paz and 120 metres below La Paz. The mining operations were carried out very traditionally and on a small-scale basis with the focus being on chiselling of calcite veins postblasting.
Bulk sampling program
Prior to Fura's acquisition of the Coscuez emerald mine, the previous management used small-scale underground mining methods, such as blasting of the mineralization zone within the carbonaceous shale, chiselling of the calcite veins within the carbonaceous shale and focusing on the manual extraction of emeralds present on the calcite veins. The mine has historically been operated using non-mechanized methods without a wash plant for the washing of the mined mineralized body or recording of grade and tons mined.
Immediately after the acquisition of the Coscuez emerald mine by Fura, detailed geological and topographic survey programs were initiated, and to date, 24 historical workable tunnels consisting of 17 km have been surveyed, and a total of 23km have been mapped. This survey has provided Fura with valuable information about the geology and the definition of the mineralized body.
The bulk sampling program was initiated the second week of February, 2018, and Fura plans to mine a total of 30,000 tons of material as a part of this program. The program will be completed in two phases and will continue until Dec. 31, 2018. The first phase of the sampling will focus on the area below the La Paz tunnel, and the second phase will focus on the area over the La Paz tunnel, covering most of the known mineralized body.
The main purpose of a bulk sampling program is to collect representative samples from the mineralized body at different levels from all accessible tunnels and workings within the licence area. The data collected from the program will then be modelled to understand the mineralized body grade, and accordingly, if conclusive, a large-scale mining plan can be devised.
Initial production during the bulk sampling program
During the first phase of the bulk sampling program, a total of 1,720 carats have been discovered, out of which 826 carats are of high quality.
Pilot wash plant
Fura has started working on the design of the pilot wash plant to support the bulk sampling process with a rated capacity of 30 tph and with an annualized capacity of 100,000 tons per annum. The company expects the plant to be commissioned on or before June 30, 2018.
About Fura Gems Inc.
Fura Gems is a gemstone mining and marketing company, which is engaged in the mining, exploration and acquisition of gemstone licences. Fura's headquarters is located in Toronto, Canada, and its administrative headquarters is located in the Almas Tower, Dubai.
Fura is engaged in the exploration of resource properties in Colombia and owns a 76-per-cent interest the Coscuez emerald mine in Boyaca, Colombia, and a 100-per-cent interest in the emerald licence ECH-121. Fura is involved in the exploration and mining of rubies in Mozambique through its 80-per-cent effective interest in the four ruby licences (4392, 3868, 3869 and 6811) that it acquired in November, 2017.
Qualified person
Ricardo A. Valls, MSc, PGeo, of Valls Geoconsultant, Toronto, Ont., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release and has approved its dissemination. Mr. Valls is considered independent of Fura.
