In offsite testing of its purpose-built processing plant, crushing and grinding up to seven tonnes of ore an hour followed by a gravity separation process, Glass Earth has already recovered a few grammes of alluvial (loose) gold particles during bulk sampling.
Glass Earth's foray into producing gold could not have come at a better time, with global gold spot prices hitting five record highs this month, most recently $US1117 ($NZ1511) on the Comex division of the New York stock exchange this week.
Glass Earth's Ophir prospect is a 50:50 joint venture with private company Ophir Gold Ltd.
Of its initial $250,000 commitment to the project, while Glass Earth has so far spent about $150,000.
Glass Earth has spent about $24 million exploring New Zealand in the past four years, mainly in Otago.
At present, it has $1.2 million cash-in-hand plus a recent private placement in Canada of $640,000.
Its principal listing is on the TSX.
Glass Earth chief executive Simon Henderson said an initial bulk sample of about 150cu m of ore was being processed near Ophir to confirm the crusher's parameters and recoveries.
It was then expected the pilot plant would be relocated to the Wai-iti gold vein system, which is about 2.5km south of the Ophir township, for further bulk testing.
Glass Earth has exploration permits from Crown Minerals covering its Ophir tenements, allowing bulk sampling, and has applied for full mining permits.
Following a successful "evaluation phase" this month, Mr Henderson said a decision to mine would prompt construction of a larger plant, processing about 40 tonnes of ore an hour, plus completion of applications for regulatory consents and mining permits.
"The potential to replicate the mining on other pods of near-surface ore will be progressively evaluated," he said.
Separately, Glass Earth has another project in development in the Ida Valley in Central Otago, where it wants to mine for alluvial gold.
