“Operations Team Testing Equipment in Preparation for First Gold Pour”
December 27, 2017, Vancouver, B.C. - Northern Vertex Mining Corp. (TSX.V: NEE) (OTC - Nasdaq Intl: NHVCF) (the “Company”) is pleased to report progress on construction and commissioning activities at its 100% owned Moss Mine project located near Bullhead City, Arizona.
Kenneth Berry, President and CEO, stated: “Continuing construction progress throughout this holiday season is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our team. The transition from construction to commissioning is underway, with the first gold pour at the Moss Mine scheduled for Q1, 2018. Our recent non-dilutive US$11M working capital financing provides a clear path to commercial production and positive cash flow (see December 21, 2017 news release). We are excited to be the next producing open pit gold mine in the USA.”
Click the following link to view progress at the Moss Mine: https://northernvertex.com/projects/photo-gallery/
Highlights of activities underway at the Moss Gold/Silver Mine:
Crushing Plant
The crushing plant is mechanically complete. The remaining electrical work is also nearing completion. All of the grounding grids have been completed and tested, and all motors have been terminated. All of the cable trays, conduits and high voltage wiring are complete. Wire terminations in the Motor Control Center (“MCC”) 95% complete, while the Programable Logic Control (“PLC”) low voltage wiring is roughly 90% complete. Vendor commissioning will be undertaken upon completion of the PLC programming and testing. The plant punchlist items are expected in early January followed by full plant handover from construction to operations in mid-January 2018.
Power Station
The onsite power station is well advanced with the final installation of 8 Caterpillar generators supplied by Empire Power. All of the transformers have been placed. Rebel Oil of Kingman, AZ have supplied three 10,000 gallon fuel tanks complete with fuel delivery pumps and Great Basin Industrial have installed the fuel delivery and Diesel Exhaust Fluid additive lines.
Western Line Builders have now completed all of the overhead power distribution lines, transformers and electrical connections to the MCC’s. The remaining work prior to commissioning of the power station is installation and programming of the generator control panel. Caterpillar is expected to be onsite in early January to do the generator load testing, programming and commissioning of the power station.
Leach Pad and Ponds
The Phase 2A portion of the leach pad comprising roughly 4,000,000 square feet of geomembrane liners is now complete. The last task is the placement of the remaining 50,000 tons of overliner drainrock in the West Pad area.
The leach pad is ready to receive ore upon the commencement of crushing and agglomeration operations. The three process ponds have been lined and the liners have been terminated. N.A. Degerstrom are now focussing on punchlist items such as final dressing of slopes, final grading and completion of the stormwater protection works.
Superstition Crushing
Superstition Crushing of Mesa, Arizona completed their contract to produce 170,000 tons of overliner drainrock and have now demobilized from the project site.
Ore Stacking
All of the mechanical and electrical components for agglomerated ore transport and stacking are onsite and have been assembled. This includes 800 lineal feet of overland conveyor, 17 grasshopper conveyors, and an extendable radial stacker. Valley Splicing of Norco, CA have completed the installation of the conveyor belts on the stacker, grasshoppers and overland conveyor. The radial stacker and grasshoppers have been positioned ready to commence ore stacking.
Merrill Crowe
Mechanical close out for the Merrill Crowe and Refinery is scheduled next week. The electrical work is progressing well with all of the cable tray installed, all of the motors have been set and torqued, and wire terminations are roughly 80% complete. Work has commenced with wiring in the PLC and programming is anticipated for mid-January. Vendor commissioning is scheduled for the latter half of January and plant turnover is anticipated in late January. The first reagent fills have been scheduled for January. The first cyanide deliveries are scheduled for January 10, 2018, and other reagents will be on site by January 15th.
Raw Water and Fire Water
The raw water supply system consisting of 4 producing ground water wells has been completed and the system has consistently been delivering 150 gpm of construction water for the past several months. The system is designed to deliver a peak of 250 gpm of make-up water for leaching operations.
Ten 10,000 gallon polypropylene tanks have been set for raw/process water storage and the tanks have been connected to a common header feeding the raw water pumps. The pumps include a 1500 gpm fire water pump, and two smaller pumps to provide water to the dust suppression spray bars on the crusher. All of the raw water distribution lines have been installed including fire water and process water for the plant facilities. The system includes a 180,000 gallon fire water tank.
Ancillaries
In preparation for mine startup, several ancillary buildings have been moved to the Moss mine site. This includes three laboratory structures that formerly served as the laboratory facility in Phase I. Two of the three laboratory structures (the wet lab and the fire assay lab) have been moved, and the sample preparation laboratory will be moved in early January. The Company has already placed orders for an 8-bay restroom block, a double wide office block, and a break room trailer. These facilities will be moved to the mine site in early January.
Operational Workforce
In advance of mining and process operations at the Moss Mine, the Company has been successful at building a permanent operating team consisting of crusher plant operators under the direction of the Crushing Manager, heap leach pad operators under the direction of the Plant Manager, and Merrill Crowe/Refinery operators and assay lab technicians under the direction of the mine metallurgist. The on-boarding of operations staff for training and plant commissioning is underway with an effective plant startup date in mid-January.
Safety
Safety is a priority for all company personnel. Operations of the Moss Mine have worked 1892 days without a Lost Time Accident or MSHA reportable injury. During the construction phase company and contractor personnel peaked at 188 persons on site and maintained this accident free record through-out.
Qualified Person
The foregoing technical information contained in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards for Disclosure for Minerals Projects) and reviewed on behalf the Company by James McDonald, P.Geo & Director for Northern Vertex, a Qualified Person.
About Northern Vertex
Northern Vertex Mining Corp. is an exploration and mining company focused on the reactivation of its 100% owned Moss Mine Gold/Silver Project located in NW Arizona, USA. The Company’s management comprises an experienced management team with a strong background in all aspects of acquisition, exploration, development, operations and financing of mining projects worldwide. The Company is focused on working effectively and respectfully with our stakeholders in the vicinity of the historical Moss Mine and enhancing the capacity of the local communities in the area.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF NORTHERN VERTEX
"Kenneth Berry "
President & CEO
For further information, please visit www.northernvertex.com
or contact Investor Relations at: 604-601-3656 or at 1-855-633-8798
Click the following link to view: https://northernvertex.com/projects/photo-gallery/
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains statements about our future business and planned activities. These are “forward-looking” because we have used what we know and expect today to make a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements including but are not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work and analyses. Forward-looking statements usually include words such as scheduled, may, intend, plan, expect, anticipate, believe or other similar words. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We believe the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, actual events and results could be substantially different because of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business or events that happen after the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. This release contains statements concerning the Greenstone Facility, and the anticipated proceeds of the financing. There can be no assurance that the initial advance or any subsequent advances under the Greenstone Facility will complete within the anticipated timelines or complete as contemplated or at all, or that the proceeds of the financing will be used as anticipated. To the best of management’s knowledge, Northern Vertex is the next publicly traded company to initiate gold and silver production scheduled for calendar Q1 2018 in the USA. As a general policy, we do not update forward-looking statements except as required by securities laws and regulations. US investors should be aware that mining terminology used for Canadian mineral project reporting purposes differs significantly from US terminology.
2017 number 32