The property was mined from 1943 to 1945 when 20.5 million tonnes of ore grading 12.3% zinc, 0.36% copper, 0.48% lead, 128.6 grams silver per tonne, and a pair of.1 grams gold per tonne had been excavated. Drilling by a number of operators continued sporadically till Blue Moon acquired the venture in 1994.
The Blue Moon venture presently has a 43-101 compliant inferred useful resource of seven.8 million tonnes grading 4.95% zinc, 0.46% copper, 1.4 grams gold per tonne, 45.6 grams silver per tonne, and 0.29% lead (8.07% zinc-equivalent). The useful resource comprises 771 million lb. of zinc, 71 million lb. of copper, 46 million lb. of lead, 300,000 oz. of gold, and 10 million oz. of silver.
The corporate has digitized the historic information and located the deposit to be open at depth and to the south. Drilling in 2018 and 2019 weren’t included within the useful resource estimate and highlights included 9.1 metres grading 30.3% zinc, 1.7% copper, 1.67 grams gold per tonne, 71 grams silver per tonne (36.8% zinc-equivalent) in 2018 and seven.6 metres grading 25.6% zinc, 0.9% copper, 0.68 gram gold per tonne and 17 grams silver per tonne (28.5% zinc-equivalent) in 2019.
Further drilling in 2020 traced the huge sulphide lenses for 900 metres alongside plunge, and the mineralization is open to the floor and at depth. Blue Moon purchased out Australian accomplice Platina Assets in December 2020 and has a drill allow extension to June 26, 2023.
Blue Moon initiated the present part of drilling in September 2021 with three or 4 step-out holes totalling about 2,400 metres. Targets have been chosen to increase mineralization in recognized lenses and the untested space beneath the historic workings on the American Eagle deposit. An untested space surrounded by a robust footwall and stringer mineralization can be to be drilled.
Blue Moon expects that standard flotation will produce a number of concentrates. In 1988, drill core samples had been offered for metallurgical testing and recoveries of as much as 95% for zinc and lead, 93% for copper, 65% for gold, and 70% for gold had been achieved.
Blue Moon is planning an underground mine to cut back the floor footprint of the venture. It has employed environmental and engineering consultants to help within the allowing. For the reason that property hosts a past-producing mine, it had an underground allow and reclamation plan accepted in 1991.
Blue Moon additionally owns 100% of the Yava polymetallic property in Nunavut. A former proprietor produced a non-compliant useful resource estimate in 1991. The Major zone was believed to include 1.3 million tonnes grading 4.96% zinc, 1.03% copper, 1.6% lead, 117 grams silver per tonne, and 0.27 gram gold per tonne.
Blue Moon has a market capitalization of $4.7 million.
Copper Fox Metals (TSXV: CUU; US-OTC: CPFXF) has three copper exploration initiatives in Arizona — Van Dyke, Mineral Mountain and Sombrero Butte.
Copper Fox has a 100% working curiosity within the in situ restoration (ISR) Van Dyke copper venture about 145 km east of Phoenix. A 2020 preliminary financial evaluation put the mine life at 17 years with peak manufacturing of 85 million lb copper yearly in years two by way of 12, declining within the remaining years of operation. Complete output over the lifetime of the venture could be 1.1 billion lb. of copper. The all-in sustaining price per lb. copper was pegged at $1.14. Van Dyke carries an preliminary capex requirement of $290.5 million and a payback interval of two.1 years. The bottom case PEA used a copper worth of $3 per pound. The post-tax web current worth at a 7.5% low cost fee is $644.7 million and the inner fee of return is 43.4%.
Copper Fox up to date the sources at Van Dyke in 2020 and included an indicated portion for the primary time. The indicated useful resource is 97.6 million tonnes grading 0.33% copper for 717 million lb. of soluble copper. The inferred useful resource is 168 million tonnes grading 0.27% copper for 699 million lb. of soluble copper.
The present work program at Van Dyke contains groundwater research and drill core logging.
On the Sombrero Butte porphyry copper venture east of the city of Mammoth, Copper Fox is incomes a 100% curiosity. The price range this yr is $700,000 for an induced polarization (IP) survey, mapping, sampling and prospecting.
Historic manufacturing on the Sombrero Butte property occurred from 1903 to 1920 within the Magma Chief mine. On the time, ‘low-grade’ ore assayed 3% to five% copper and ‘greater grade’ ore alongside open cuts and tunnels ran 20% to 33% copper.
Copper Fox additionally owns 100% of the Mineral Mountain porphyry copper venture 16 km east of the city of Florence. Work the corporate did in 2019 outlined a 4,500-metre lengthy and as much as 2,000-metre large space containing about 600 copper showings. A second space of mineralization happens in a northeast trending space about 2,800-metres-long by 400-metres-wide characterised by malachite and chrysocolla hosted in quartz veins and fractures. A 3rd zone of copper-molybdenum mineralization was additionally recognized in 2019.
Outcomes from this yr’s IP research will likely be used to plan a drilling program.
In British Columbia, Copper Fox has pursuits in two copper properties. The corporate bought 100% of the Eaglehead copper venture, 50 km east of Dease Lake, for C$1.2 million in April 2021. Historic drilling intersected a number of zones of porphyry mineralization. Preliminary metallurgical checks are underway.
Probably the most superior venture within the firm’s portfolio is Schaft Creek, 60 km south of Telegraph Creek. The venture is a three way partnership with Teck Assets (75%) and Copper Fox holds the remaining 25%.
A preliminary financial evaluation accomplished earlier this yr for Schaft Creek foresees a mine lifetime of 21 years at a nominal milling fee of 133,000 tonnes per day. Over the lifetime of the mine, 2.3 million tonnes of copper, 3.7 million oz. of gold, 226 million lb. of molybdenum, and 16.4 million oz. of silver could be produced in concentrates. Preliminary capital prices could be $2.65 billion plus sustaining prices of $848.7 million (together with closure prices). All-in sustaining prices per lb. of copper produced could be $1.14.
Copper Fox has a market capitalization of $120 million.
Elevation Gold Mining
Previously generally known as Northern Vertex Mining, Elevation Gold Mining’s (TSXV: ELVT; US-OTC: NHVCF) precept holding is its 100%-owned Moss gold-silver mine in Mohave County, Arizona, about 130 km southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a low-cost open pit mine with oxide ore, all of which is treatable with heap leaching.
When the Moss mine was deliberate in 2015, a mining fee of 5,000 tonnes per day was envisioned. However with distinctive crusher efficiency and a devoted group, throughput has been greater for the reason that plant was commissioned in 2018. Gold is recovered from pregnant answer at an on-site Merrill-Crowe plant and refinery. Restoration is 77% for gold and 43% for silver.
The reserve estimate and mine plan have lately been up to date. The venture comprises confirmed and possible reserves of 12.7 million tonnes grading 0.45 grams gold per tonne and 5.4 grams silver per tonne. Contained metals are 184,500 oz. of gold and a pair of.2 million oz. of silver.
The measured and indicated sources (together with reserves) are 38.9 million tonnes grading 0.39 gram gold per tonne and 4.6 grams silver per tonne for 490,200 oz. of contained gold and 5.8 million oz. of silver. The inferred useful resource is 6.6 million tonnes grading 0.35 gram gold per tonne and 4.5 grams silver per tonne for contained steel of 73,800 oz. of gold and 940,000 oz. of silver.
The Moss mine has two lively pits, East and West, and Elevation Gold continues to discover. Mineralization beneath each pits stays open, which the corporate says will add ounces to sources and decrease the strip ratio within the pits.
Drilling beneath the pits continues to return important gold and silver intercepts: Gap AR21-298R minimize 76.2 metres grading 0.73 gram gold per tonne and 6.5 grams silver per tonne, together with 6.1 metres at 3.62 grams gold and 36.43 grams silver. Gap 494R intersected 109.7 metres grading 0.49 gram gold per tonne and 6.41 grams silver per tonne, together with 13.7 metres grading 1.52 grams gold and 20.61 grams silver. Gap 504R intersected 15.2 metres grading 2.17 grams gold per tonne and 35.14 grams silver per tonne, together with 4.6 metres at 5.33 grams gold and 102.33 grams silver.
Elevation Gold has plans to extend annual throughput at Moss to 888,000 tonnes per quarter, scale back mining prices, and discover permitted pit extensions and generate further drill targets on its land bundle.
Between the Moss mine and Las Vegas, Elevation has an possibility to amass 100% of the Hercules gold-silver venture. 4 floor gold system are recognized, and the corporate believes they is perhaps linked at depth, making a single massive oxidized system. No useful resource estimate has been made for this property.
Elevation Gold has a market capitalization of $58.8 million.
Equinox Gold
Equinox Gold (TSX: EQX; NYSE: EQX) is a gold producer with mines in Brazil, Mexico and the USA plus the Greenstone gold growth venture and a number of other exploration properties in Canada.
The corporate has two producing mines in southern California, Mesquite in Imperial County and Fort Mountain in San Bernardino County. Steerage for 2021 on the Mesquite mine is 130,000 to 140,000 oz. of gold and is 20,000 to 30,000 oz. of gold at Fort Mountain.
The Fort Mountain open pit and heap leach produced greater than 1 million oz. of gold from 1992 to 2004. Rising gold costs led Equinox to revisit the venture. The part one re-opened operation poured its first gold in November 2020. Now it’s present process growth, which can produce 218,000 oz. of gold yearly and have a lifetime of 20 years.
The part two feasibility research accomplished in March 2021, suggests the addition of a mill facility to deal with greater grade ore and continued heap leaching of decrease grade materiel. Equinox expects to use for an amended mining allow and to file an up to date environmental impression evaluation.
Equinox lately expanded the lifetime of the Mesquite mine by 14 years with whole manufacturing of two.1 million oz. of gold from the heap leach and 1.1 million oz. of gold from milled ore. All-in sustaining prices will likely be $858 per oz. of gold over the lifetime of the mine.
The bottom case used a gold worth of $1,500 per oz. and outlined an preliminary capital requirement of $389 million for infrastructure and $121 million for a leased mining fleet. The sustaining capital could be $147 million.
The Fort Mountain growth has an after-tax web current worth at a 5% low cost fee of $639 million and an inner fee of return of 18.3%. With a leased fleet, payback would take 5.4 years.
Development on the part two growth might start in two years and the total processing fee be reached two years after that.
Equinox Gold bought 100% of the manufacturing Mesquite mine in 2018 from New Gold. It has been in operation since 1985 and, for the final ten years, has produced 130,000 oz. of gold yearly. For 2021, the corporate expects the mine will produce between 130,000 and 140,000 oz. of gold at an all-in sustaining price of $1,375 to $1,425 per ounce.
The open pit and heap leach Mesquite mine is nearing the tip of its initially deliberate life. With present sources it has about two or three years’ remaining mine life plus residual leaching. However Equinox is targeted on extending the mine life by way of each exploration and optimization. The fast exploration upside is 40 million tonnes of doubtless mineralized materials within the oxide dump in addition to new in-pit and near-pit targets.
In September 2021, the corporate launched new useful resource numbers for Mesquite. The confirmed and possible reserves are 30.3 million tonnes grading 0.48 gram gold per tonne for 471,000 oz. of contained gold. It is a 28% drop in contained gold from the sooner estimate made in 2021, as a result of mining depletion.
Contained gold within the measured and indicated useful resource class (unique of reserves) elevated by 65% to 1.4 million oz. in 105 million tonnes grading 0.41 gram gold per tonne. Contained gold within the inferred useful resource rose 30% to 912,000 oz. in 84 million tonnes grading 0.34 gram gold per tonne.
Equinox has two gold mines in Mexico (Los Filos and Mercedes) and three in Brazil (Aurizona, Fazend and RDM). As effectively in Brazil, the corporate is refurbishing the infrastructure and retrofitting the mill on the former Santa Luz gold mine in preparation to pour its first gold within the first quarter of 2022.
In Canada Equinox broke floor in October on the Greenstone gold mine 275 km northeast of Thunder Bay in Ontario. It is a three way partnership between Equinox (60%) and Orion Mine Finance (40%). The mine is anticipated to provide over 5 million oz. of gold throughout its preliminary 14 yr life. The development price is estimated at C$1.53 billion with the primary gold pour focused for the primary half of 2024.
Equinox Gold has a market capitalization of $2.3 billion.
Kore Mining
Kore Mining (TSXV: KORE; US-OTC: KOREF) has two superior gold initiatives in southern California: Imperial within the county of the identical identify and Lengthy Valley in Mono County.
The Imperial venture has district scale potential masking 28 sq. km of the Mesquite-Imperial-Picacho district. The world has seen no exploration in a least 20 years, the corporate says. It has chosen 5 gold anomalies on a structural pattern as its targets. A drilling allow is anticipated within the second half of subsequent yr.
One problem of the Imperial venture is it proximity to the Salton Sea. As what was as soon as a big, landlocked physique of water continues to dry up, beforehand submerged lakebed is uncovered and creates mud that’s doubtlessly poisonous to native communities. To wash up the realm, California state businesses have begun a ten-year plan that goals to suppress the salty emissions and construct a 12,150 hectare wetland for the vegetation and animals which have disappeared. Kore Mining has developed venture ACES, the supply of native supplies to assist in remediating the uncovered lakebed.
Kore submitted the mine allow software within the final half of 2021. This is able to be an open pit with run-of-mine ore positioned on a heap leach. Imperial has sturdy economics, even at a gold worth of $1,300 per oz., however Kore used $1,450 per oz. of gold for its calculations for the amended preliminary financial evaluation base case launched in June 2021.
Kore plans to develop an open pit with heap leach that may have a mine lifetime of eight years and produce 146,000 oz. of gold yearly. The all-in sustaining price is estimated to be $852 per ounce.
Pre-production capex could be $143 million, and the post-tax payback interval could be 2.7 years at a gold worth of $1,450 per ounce. That might be adopted by sustaining capital totalling $60.5 million and closure prices of $147.7 million. The after-tax web current worth could be $458 million and the inner fee of return 44%.
On the finish of 2019, the Imperial venture contained 900,000 oz. of gold in 46 million indicated tonnes grading 0.59 gram gold per tonne and 1.3 million oz. of gold in 91 million inferred tonnes grading 0.46 gram gold per tonne.
Kore continues to work carefully with the U.S. Bureau of Land Administration to safe further permits to advance the Imperial gold venture to feasibility and mine allowing.
The Lengthy Valley PEA dated September 2020 examined the potential of this huge, shallow oxide gold deposit. It estimated the indicated useful resource to be 63.7 million tonnes grading 0.58 gram gold per tonne for 1.2 million contained oz. of gold and the inferred useful resource to be 22 million tonnes grading 0.65 gram gold per tonne for 453,000 oz. of gold. The open pit mine with a heap leach would have a lifetime of seven years producing 102,000 oz. yearly at an AISC of $773 per ounce.
Kore says the venture will want an preliminary capital expenditure of $161 million and has an after-tax payback of 1.8 years, utilizing a gold worth of $1,600 per oz. for these calculations. The after-tax NPV at a 5% low cost could be $273 million and the IRR 48%.
The silver content material of the Lengthy Valley venture was not assayed throughout historic drilling and isn’t within the present useful resource. Metallurgical testing has proven silver restoration is feasible within the heap leach, subsequently Kore will embody silver assays in any reviews going ahead.
Kore Mining has a market capitalization of $37.7 million.
Laramide Assets
Laramide Assets (TSX: LAM; US-OTC: LMRXF; ASX: LAM) is targeted on potential uranium manufacturing in each the USA and Australia.
Probably the most superior of its initiatives is the 100%-owned Churchrock property in McKinley County, New Mexico. This is able to be an in situ restoration (ISR) operation and is already permitted. The property comprises the past-producing Outdated Church Rock uranium mine operated by Phillips Petroleum within the Nineteen Sixties and within the early Nineteen Eighties by United Nuclear Corp.
Laramide consolidated information from earlier operators and digitized the outcome to characterize 561,300 metres of drilling. A 43-101 compliant useful resource in 2017 estimated inferred sources at 33.9 million tonnes grading 0.075% uranium oxide (U3O8) for 50.8 million contained lb. of uranium oxide. The corporate is engaged on the preliminary preliminary financial evaluation.
There may be additionally exploration potential at Churchrock. Useful resource modeling has already recognized new targets, which might add further tonnage to the deposit, and the inferred sources may be up to date. There aren’t any reserves but estimated for the venture.
Laramide’s ISR division additionally holds 100% of the Crownpoint uranium venture 40 km from Churchrock. This venture is permitted for a 3 million lb. yellowcake processing plant. Though there’s an inferred useful resource of two.5 million tonnes averaging 0.10% uranium oxide for five.1 million lb. of contained uranium oxide, Laramide had not, as of 2018, developed a mine plan besides to say the deposit seems amenable to ISR.
The corporate additionally owns 100% of the La Jara Mesa uranium venture in Cibola County, New Mexico. This residue is appropriate for underground mining. The present 43-101 compliant useful resource calculation was accomplished in 2006 and amended in 2007. The indicated sources had been estimated at 1.4 million tonnes averaging 0.23% uranium oxide for 7.2 million lb. of contained uranium oxide. The inferred portion was 700,000 tonnes grading 0.2% uranium oxide for 3.1 million lb. of contained uranium oxide.
Laramide has obtained a draft environmental impression assertion from the U.S. Forest Companies, and a evaluate is pending.
Laramide additionally owns 100% of the La Sal uranium property in Utah, however earlier homeowners by no means produced a 43-101 compliant useful resource estimate. The collapse of the uranium worth in 1978 compelled Homestake Mining to close down the venture though a feasibility research has been accomplished.
In Australia, Laramide owns the Murphy inexperienced discipline uranium venture within the Northern Territory and the Westmoreland growth stage uranium venture in Queensland.
Laramide consolidated its curiosity within the Murphy venture in October 2020 and now holds a 100% curiosity within the tenements it has been exploring. The tenements cowl an space of 683 sq. km alongside the Westmoreland pattern. Having the outcomes of an airborne geophysical survey accomplished in 2014, Laramide anticipates ground-based exercise would be the subsequent step. No useful resource estimate has but been made.
The Westmoreland uranium venture is on the superior exploration stage, because of work completed by earlier operator Rio Tinto. Laramide has continued to advance the venture because the economics are optimistic even at low uranium costs. A PEA was completed in 2016 that put sources at 18.7 million indicated tonnes grading 0.09% uranium oxide for 36 million lb. of contained uranium oxide and 9 million inferred tonnes averaging 0.08% uranium oxide for 15.9 million lb. of contained uranium oxide.
Laramide Assets has a market capitalization of $139.8 million.
Southern Empire Assets
Southern Empire Assets’ (TSXV: SMP; US-OTC: SMPEF) major focus is the brownfields Oro Cruz gold venture in Imperial County, California. It’s hosted within the northern finish of the Caborca orogenic gold pattern, which additionally hosts Equinox Gold’s Mesquite mine and Fresnillo’s La Herradura mine.
Oro Cruz hosts former gold producers Oro Cruz, American Lady, American Boy, and Padre y Madre. The pits and underground mines had been final in operation in 1996, though their historical past goes again to the arrival of the Spanish within the space.
Over 2 km of current underground developments are in pristine situation, which supplies Southern Empire a head begin on underground exploration. Stripping for an extension of the Cross pit is partially full.
The 43-101 useful resource estimate ready in 2010 put the inferred useful resource at 4.4 million tonnes, grading 2.2 grams gold per tonne at a 0.68 gram gold cut-off grade. There are 341,800 oz. of gold contained within the useful resource, however the firm is in search of not less than one million ounces of contained gold.
Historic waste rock dumps, sampled in June 2021, may include ounces that may be added to the full. The American Lady dump assayed 0.448 gram gold per tonne from 104 floor rock samples; the Padre y Madre dump assayed 0.203 gram gold per tonne from 54 floor samples; and the Oro Cruz dump averaged 0.208 gram gold per tonne from 29 floor samples.
Sonic drilling in ten holes on the historic American Lady leach pad returned between 0.510 and 0.235 gram gold per tonne over lengths of roughly 30 metres. Ten related holes on the Padre y Madre leach pad returned between 1.027 grams gold per tonne and 0.344 gram gold per tonne over lengths that diversified between 3 and 10 metres.
Preliminary metallurgical checks to find out gold restoration over 96 hours was 74.4% from American Lady samples and 89.7% from Padre y Madre samples. Checks are persevering with.
Southern Empire has a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Bureau of Land Administration to find out respective obligations and procedures for the environmental evaluation at Oro Cruz. The BLM deemed the sooner exploration plan of operations for Oro Cruz full. That plan requires as much as 65 drill pads, a staging space on the Cross mine underground portal, and street development.
The Oro Cruz property has glorious entry and infrastructure, together with a high-voltage energy line, and a neighborhood workforce is offered. Subject research for environmental, water and cultural useful resource assessments are underway.
Southern Empire has two different early stage gold exploration initiatives in its portfolio. One is the Pedro property in Durango, Mexico, the place the corporate is incomes a 100% curiosity from Commander Assets, and the opposite is the Eastgate venture (85% Southern Empire and 15% Kermode Assets) in Churchill County, Nevada.
Southern Empire has a market cap of $4.8 million.
Themac Assets Group
Themac Assets Group (TSXV: MAC; US-OTC: MACQF) depends on its subsidiary, New Mexico Copper, to function its wholly owned copper porphyry growth venture in Sierra County, New Mexico. The property hosts the previous Copper Flat copper-molybdenum-gold-silver mine. A feasibility research for re-opening the venture was accomplished in 2014 and up to date in 2020 by Themac.
Prior to now 30 years there have been two efforts to convey the Copper Flat open pit mine into industrial manufacturing. Quinterra Minerals invested $89 million to convey the mine into manufacturing in 1982 and operated it for 3.5 months. The mine went on care and upkeep as a result of low copper costs and excessive borrowing charges.
The second effort was by Alta Gold, which acquired the property in 1994. It accomplished the ultimate draft of the environmental impression assertion in 1999 earlier than the corporate went bankrupt.
Themac acquired Copper Flat in Could 2011 and has been advancing and de-risking the venture over the past ten years. The feasibility research estimated measured and indicated sources at 305.2 million tonnes grading 0.023% copper, 0.007% molybdenum, 0.002 gram gold per tonne, and 0.05 gram silver per tonne. The measured and indicated class comprises 1.4 billion lb. of copper, 2.2 million lb. of molybdenum, 28,000 oz. of gold, and 14.7 million oz. of silver.
The inferred useful resource is 27.6 million tonnes grading 0.2% copper, 0.004% molybdenum, 0.001 gram gold per tonne, and 0.02 gram silver per tonne, containing 110.6 million lb. of copper, 2.2 million lb. of molybdenum, 28,000 oz. of gold, and 553,000 oz. of gold.
Based mostly on these sources, the mine life could be 11 years throughout which era 628 million lb. of copper, 15.7 million lb. of molybdenum, 227,000 oz. of gold, and 5.9 million oz. of silver could be recovered. The research didn’t provide all-in sustaining prices however did present “whole working prices” after by-product income of $1.46 per lb. of copper.
Figures within the up to date 2018 feasibility research put the preliminary capital price at $274 million, together with $10.5 million for mine preproduction and $328.5 for a mineral processing plant. Payback could be achieved after 3.3 years. Metallic costs of $3.25 per lb. for copper, $10.50 per lb. for molybdenum, $1,300 per oz. for gold, and $16 per oz. for silver had been used within the research.
The bottom case after-tax web current worth at an 8% low cost fee could be $186.7 million and the after-tax inner fee of return could be 20.8%. Ought to base steel costs improve by 20% from these listed above, the IRR would improve to 30.5%, in keeping with the feasibility research.
Brownfield infrastructure on the Copper Flat venture quantities to a head begin on development. The property has concrete foundations for the concentrator grinding, flotation and thickening circuits. There are additionally foundations for a truck store, administration constructing, and the laboratory, in addition to for the first crusher, electrical substation and coarse ore reclaim tunnel. These had been constructed by Quinterra within the early Nineteen Eighties.
Themac started allowing efforts for the Copper Flat mine and mill in 2010. The property has federal, state and personal possession, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Administration would be the lead company.
Apart from financing, the one main obstacle to growth is the query of water rights for the Copper flat venture. Themac misplaced many of the water rights in 2017, in keeping with the native Sierra County newspaper. The corporate appealed the choice, and within the meantime has leased water rights and utilized to the state engineer for permission to maneuver the rights from the Sunland Park-Santa Teresa space close to El Paso to the manufacturing wells about 5 km from the Caballo Lake and Rio Grande River. Water rights homeowners from the Caballo and the Santa Teresa areas protested, and a listening to has been scheduled on the matter for September 2022.
Themac Assets Group has a market capitalization of $3.9 million.
(This text first appeared in The Northern Miner)