The whispers are growing louder for GBM Gold.
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Ever since Unity Mining agreed to sell its Kangaroo Flat gold plant, equipment and mining and exploration tenements to the relatively unknown company in September, 2015, people have been talking.
People, especially those that live near the Woodvale Evaporation Ponds – ponds which store water pumped from historic mine workings that has absorbed salts and other heavy metals from the surrounding rock – were worried.
They were worried the company was too small to take on a large mining operation.
Worried the company would fold and leave the government to deal with the toxic ponds on their doorstep.
And while certain fears have been addressed – GBM last August had a rehabilitation plan for the ponds approved by the government’s mining regulator – the company’s lack of mining operations, combined with questionable balance sheets, has many more joining the chorus.
More on GBM Gold’s plans to explore Bendigo Goldfield:
In the past six weeks, GBM Gold announced a $3 million loan which it said would help resume mining activity in the Bendigo Goldfield.
That loan never came.
Nor has another loan, which GBM said was designed to replace it.
Just last week, the company, in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, said it was in “discussions with another party to provide a short-term loan before December 4”.
The company remains in a trading halt and various attempts to contact GBM Gold have proved futile.
With rumours swirling, GBM could at least attempt to address them publicly.
Perhaps GBM didn’t realise what it was getting itself into back in 2015, given the mammoth task that lies ahead in rehabilitating the ponds.
Perhaps GBM thought it might be able to access more gold than it has.
Whatever the current situation, the Bendigo community, particularly those in Woodvale deserve a bit more clarity.