GWMO Great Western Mining Corporation Plc

Great Western Mining Corporation PLC

("Great Western", "GWM" or the "Company")

Half Yearly Report and Unaudited Condensed Financial Statements

Great Western Mining Corporation PLC (AIM - GWMO, Euronext Growth - 8GW), which is exploring and developing gold, silver and copper targets in Nevada, announces its unaudited results for the six-months ended 30 June 2024 (the "Period").

Financial Highlights:

·       Loss for Period €441,343 (30 June 2023: loss of €527,985 and December 2023: loss of €952,654)

·       Basic and diluted loss per share 0.0001 cent (30 June 2023: 0.0001 cent and 31 December 2023: €0.0002 cent)

·       Net assets at 30 June 2024: €9,427,384 (30 June 2023: €8,845,494 and 31 December 2023: €8,831,416)

·       Cash balances at 30 June 2024: €91,003 (30 June 2023: €410,661 and 31 December 2023: €95,306 million)

·       Placing of new shares during Period raised £700,500 before expenses

Operational Highlights:

·        Focus on further establishing copper potential in porphyry settings

o   Strengthening case for a copper 'district'

·        Continuing discussions with possible joint venture partners to deliver full potential of the Huntoon Copper Project

·        Grab samples from the West Huntoon claims produced strong grades of copper, gold and silver

·        135 soil samples taken from West Huntoon established a copper anomaly greater than 75 ppm over 2 km2 (494 acres)

Post Period End:

·        Environmental permit for mill operations received and effective

o   Enabling commencement of operations - hook-up in progress with emphasis on ensuring all systems correctly installed in line with mine regulations and safety directives

o   Next steps include testing and working with joint venture partner Muletown to overcome teething issues

o   Focus on monetising Company's stockpiles of material as soon as possible

·        Pooling Agreement with Bronco Creek Exploration for developing the copper potential of the Eastside Mine claims

o   Strong indications of a porphyry copper setting over the pooled claims area

o   Aiming for an exploration and option agreement with a future partner to fund exploration and development

·        Placing of new shares raised £500,000 before expenses

During the period the Company continued its dual strategy of enhancing value through both its exploration activities and its upcoming production operations. Intensive ongoing field work increasingly emphasises the significant copper opportunity in the area. The newly signed Pooling Agreement for the Eastside Mine and continued discussions with potential partners for the Huntoon Copper Project highlight the Company's growing market presence, with its data room becoming increasingly attractive. 

The planned commencement of production will set Great Western apart from many of its peers. Development of the mill has taken longer than anticipated, not untypical for this type of project, but it is clear that the Company has a visible and tangible path to cash generation. The initial levels of production through gravity separation are expected to provide a stream of basic income, with larger production volumes and returns at a second stage through chemical leaching.

Brian Hall, Executive Chairman, commented: "We are fully committed to creating a portfolio of assets with short, medium and longer-term inflection points, proving up the quality of our claims and realising value from our precious metals and copper opportunities.

"We are focused on achieving our stated goals of generating cash flow from production, initially quite modest but which will help alleviate the usual working capital pressures associated with exploration companies, while forging a path to moving our copper prospects to the next stage.  Ongoing discussions on our copper prospects highlight the demand for quality assets, with copper fundamentals pointing to rising valuations. We do appreciate the continued support of our investors and understand that project delays cause frustration but I would like to reiterate that we continue to forge ahead on all fronts and are excited by the Company's prospects."

For Further Information:

Interim Report

For the six months to 30 June 2024

Below are Great Western Mining Corporation PLC's ('Great Western' or the 'Company') unaudited report and financial statements for the half year ended 30 June 2024.

Great Western Mining Corporation PLC explores for, appraises and develops mineral resources on its claims in the state of Nevada, USA.  Great Western currently has no revenues from its operations and is reporting a loss after tax of €441,343 for the half year (30 June 2023: €527,985; 31 December 2023: €952,654).  At 30 June 2024 the Company's net assets were €9,427,384 (30 June 2023: €8,845,494; 31 December 2023: €8,831,416).

During the reporting period work continued on finalising construction of the mill by the Western Milling joint venture in which the Company has a 50% interest.  The project currently being completed is a first stage gravity separation plant and a second stage of chemical leaching is planned.  The investment to date and construction work carried out includes significant parts of what will be required for the second phase. An all-important and long overdue environmental permit for the mill was received after the period end, enabling work on commissioning the plant to begin.  At the time of writing, the mill is not ready for first production and timelines provided in good faith by the company have been affected by teething issues, as additional work has been identified which must be completed before operations can begin.  This is a significant project and it is less than two years since the Western Milling joint venture agreement was signed.  An external adviser with appropriate expertise has been appointed to assist with completion and a progress report will be provided in late October.  Any delay in commencing production is disappointing but not unusual when working towards initial production on a pioneering project. Importantly, this project is breaking new ground for the Company in a remote area, with the objective of providing revenues from gold and silver production, which is unusual for a junior explorer.

The identification of a porphyry setting at West Huntoon in 2023 has focused the Company's exploration team on the potential for a significant copper play in the area and for the time being this has taken priority over other exploration prospects already in the pipeline. Since the spring a geological team has been working in the field, mapping and sampling this potentially copper rich area.  In April and May an induced polarisation(IP) survey was carried out to follow leads identified at surface as they disappear under tertiary cover into the Huntoon Valley, with very encouraging results. 

A further IP survey was carried out on the M5 group of claims and the Company is currently interpreting the data acquired. 

In May, Dr. Lawrence Carter, a consulting expert on porphyry systems and specialist on the nearby Yerington copper district, made a second visit to the West Huntoon porphyry setting, also visiting the Company's Eastside Mine claims where, three years ago, Great Western conducted an IP survey identifying drill targets.  Having walked the ground, Dr. Carter advised that the Eastside Mine has indications of a porphyry system equally as strong as those at West Huntoon.  Although Eastside Mine is some distance from the Huntoon Valley and as such is not likely to be directly connected, it lies in the same geographical and geological setting.  There is therefore a building story of a possible new copper 'district' in the area and, if this proves to be the case, Great Western will be at the centre of it.  However, while surface sampling and geophysical tools continually enhance knowledge of the area, an extensive drill programme will be required to deliver the full potential and establish a formal resource, which Great Western on its own will not be able to achieve.  The Company is in contact with a number of potential joint venture partners but at the time of writing no deal has been concluded for the Huntoon Copper Project. 

The Company has recently reached agreement to reinstate the time-expired Huntoon Mine Area Cooperation Agreement with Crowne Point Gold & Silver Mining Co. LLC.   Crowne Point owns an area of private land adjacent to Great Western's claims at West Huntoon with high potential for gold and silver and direct access to the copper potential of the porphyry area.  The application procedure for drilling on US Forest Service land has already been initiated but this agreement over private land will enable the Company to carry out initial drilling whenever it is ready, ahead of a permit from the Forest Service which may take some time.  This should be a major aid in moving the copper project forward. In parallel with seeking a joint venture partner for the Huntoon Copper Project, since the period end the Company has signed a 'Pooling Agreement' with Bronco Creek Exploration, Inc. which has claims adjoining Eastside Mine. Bronco Creek is a division of EMX Royalty Corporation, a substantial north American company with significant interests in the USA and all over the world and its team confirms the porphyry potential of the area.  The Pooling Agreement is a means of combining the two companies' claims, based on approximately the number of claims held by each party, resulting in a split of GWM 30% and BCE 70%.  BCE is the operator of this agreement and will actively be seeking a drilling partner through its extensive network of contacts, being in a much stronger position to do this than Great Western.  This is the first time the Company has done a deal with a third party for its copper potential and is a very encouraging development. 

In September the Company published a short discussion video on its copper stories at both the Huntoon Copper Project and the Eastside Mine which can be viewed on the Company's website, www.greatwesternmining.com.

During the reporting period, the Company released two key sets of results from soil and grab samples taken in 2023 for Huntoon and the Rhyolite Dome on the Olympic Gold claims.

Ten grab samples were collected from the West Huntoon claims and several results showed strong grades of copper, gold and silver. Two samples contained strongly elevated molybdenum which is further evidence of a porphyry system.  The most gold-rich sample contained 7.292 g/t Au and 843 g/t Ag, taken from host rock near a small granite boss in the southeast of the area mapped in late 2023.  A sample from the main West Huntoon granite graded at 5.531 g/t Au, 2,438 g/t Ag, and 1.56% Cu. A nearby copper-oxide-bearing granite sample returned 4.514 g/t Au, 102 g/t Ag and 0.09% Cu. The most copper rich sample (5.82% Cu) came from an area of abundant copper oxide showings 500 m southwest of the granite. Another two copper rich samples (4.85% and 3.82% Cu) were obtained from an old working situated in host rocks 200 m southwest of the granite. These samples also contained significant silver (55 g/t and 108 g/t respectively).

The results of 135 new soil samples taken from the West Huntoon claims established a copper anomaly greater than75 ppm Cu covering 2 km2 (494 acres) and surrounding the granite outcrop, with strong outlier samples (11 samples greater than 300 ppm of which 5 samples were greater than 400 ppm, with a maximum value 528 ppm Cu) at several locations.  The results also showed areas of broad gold enrichment. Of 135 samples taken, 124 are greater than 10 ppb Au and, of these, 47 are greater than 25 ppb Au.

At Rhyolite Dome on the Olympic Gold Project, gold results from sampling were highly positive.  Of the 145 samples taken, 54 were greater than 10 ppb gold, nine were greater than 20 ppb gold, while three outliers contain 51 ppb, 58 ppb and 61 ppb gold. The best gold results were clustered near the location of the peak legacy data sample (at 207 ppb gold). Based on these results and other indicators, the northwest side of Rhyolite Dome appears to be highly prospective.

In April, following the strong results obtained from Rhyolite Dome, Great Western exercised its option to acquire ownership of the Olympic Gold Project, which now formally becomes part of the Company's inventory of claims.  As well as its potential for discovery of gold and silver, Olympic Gold is a significant source of mining waste which will become feedstock for the Company's Western Milling joint venture.

In March the Company completed a placing of £700,000 worth of new shares for cash before expenses and after the period end conducted a further placing of £500,000 worth of new shares for cash before expenses.

Looking ahead, the Company has a lot to do on its wide spread of claims in the Walker Lane Belt of Nevada, which offer the potential not only for large scale copper deposits but also for gold and silver in the vicinity of numerous historic mining areas.  Constructive field work during and since the reporting period is consolidating work already done and continuously building a clearer picture of this potential.  Initiatives will continue to develop a partnership for a major drilling campaign to delineate a copper porphyry.  At the Western Milling joint venture, with the all-important environmental permit now secured, first production of gold and silver concentrates is in sight, despite some technical delays which are not uncharacteristic for this type of project and are currently being dealt with.  The identification of a second porphyry setting at Eastside Mine and the recent Pooling Agreement with Bronco Creek Exploration add a significant new leg to the copper story and help build the picture of a potential new copper district which, if proved up, will have Great Western at its heart.  Few new major copper mines have been discovered in recent times and a decarbonising world will become highly dependent on copper, as electrification progressively replaces hydrocarbons for the world's energy needs.  All Great Western's business activities are interesting, but the confirmation of a major copper discovery would be of the highest significance for the Company. 

Finally, it is with great sadness that the Board reports the passing of Mr. Emmett O'Connell, the Company's founder and former chairman and Chief Executive.  The Board of Great Western offers its sincere condolences to the O'Connell family.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Income Statement

For the six months to 30 June 2024

All activities derived from continuing operations. All losses are attributable to the owners of the Company.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Other Comprehensive Income

For the six months to 30 June 2024

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

For the six months to 30 June 2024