In March this year Silver Mines Ltd announced that it was acquiring Silver Investments Holdings Australia Ltd (SIHA), which includes the acquisition of Bowdens Silver Project.
Bowdens is located some 240km west of Sydney and 26km east of Mudgee. It is the largest undeveloped silver deposit in Australia and has a project area of approximately 610ha.
The acquisition of SIHA has given Silver Mines an 85% steak in Bowdens and the company is now in the process of finalising capital raising to complete the acquisition.
Bell Potter Securities has raised $35m for Silver Mines, and it is believed that another $15m may be incoming from an offshore long-only fund
Upon completion, Silver Mines will control an asset base of approximately 220 million ounces of silver equivalent.
This makes Silver Mines the largest pure silver company in Australia and one of the largest silver companies in the southern hemisphere.
The company has now secured agreements relating to three significant silver deposits, all of which fall in NSW. The other two are the Webbs Deposit, 100% owned by Silver Mines, and the Conrad Deposit, recently purchased and pending completion.
Bowdens has been well-advanced by previous owners - not only is there existing infrastructure, but a substantial amount of technical work has been completed and comprehensive environmental assessments have been undertaken.
The work done covers aspects of development option and also highlights the potential to increase the Bowdens resource over time through further exploration.
Silver Mines have said that more information will be released in due course and that the company will be undertaking a program of consultation with the local community.
The project presents an exciting opporutnity for the skilled locals, so stay tuned for further announcements and to have your say.
Source: AFR, Silver Mines Ltd, Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd