7 million ounces at Hardrock By Kevin Vincent
Greenstone Gold believes it has 7 million ounces at its Hardrock property, worth more than USD $13 billion or $17 billion Canadian and up to 15 years of production and local employment. Hardrock is a 50/50 joint venture between Premier Gold Mines Limited and Centerra Gold Inc. The Hardrock property is just 4km south of Geraldton, 275km northeast of Thunder Bay. The company continues to go through a series of permitting applications as it advances the project while waiting for more favourable conditions in light of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. In early July, the project cleared a major federal hurdle on the path to reopening the mine. Premier announced that it received federal cabinet approval of the Schedule 2 amendment as published in Canada Gazette Part 2 on June 10, 2020. “The completion of the amendment to Schedule 2 of the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations is a significant permitting milestone for the Hardrock Project,” said John Begeman, Executive Chairman of Premier. “The
amendment was completed according to a streamlined regulatory process that few other mines have achieved and reduced the approval timeline by 10 months. GGM was eligible for the streamlined process as a result of the federal government’s assessment of the quality and depth of GGM’s regulatory and Indigenous engagement throughout the work and level of support from stakeholders.” “This is a very significant milestone for the Project and the culmination of six years of effort which included extensive field work, assessments
and consultation with the Indigenous communities, local communities and federal/provincial agencies,” stated Begeman. The company signed an economic impact agreement with the leaders of the Long Lake 58 First Nations community in 2018. Greenstone is advancing plans to design, construct and operate the open-pit gold mine, processing plant and ancillary facilities, collectively known as the Hardrock Project. The project encompasses the Cont’d on pg. 24
Photo: Long Lake 58 Chief Veronica Waboose and Greenstone Hardrock General Manager Eric Lamontagne
Page22 22 ML&EN NW Ontario Report 2020 Page
