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.

Photo: Long Lake 58 Chief Veronica Waboose and Greenstone Hardrock General Manager Eric Lamontagne

The project encompasses the former Hardrock, MacLeod-Cockshutt and Mosher underground mines which operated from the late 1930s until about 1970 and together produced more than two million ounces of gold. Site rehabilitation work was undertaken during the 1990s.

GGM proposes to mine the Hardrock deposit as an open pit over a Life of Mine (LOM) of approximately 15 years. Project infrastructure will include a process plant operating 365 days per year and a mill with throughput averaging 27,000 tonnes per day.

The overall Project schedule will consist of the following phases: • Construction: Years 1 to 3, with ore stockpiling commencing after the first year of construction • Operation: Years 1 to 15, with Year 1 representing a transition from construction to operation • Closure: Years 16 to 20 for Active Closure and Years 21 to 36 for Post-Closure.

In the meantime, in order to help protect the health of employees, their families and communities from COVID-19, GGM’s Community Relations Office in Geraldton continues to remain closed until further notice.

GGM has implemented a Return to Work Plan and restarted some activities on site while following all necessary safety precautions.

This article was originally published in the recent Mining Life & Exploration News. To stay current with all of the latest in mining news and in-depth articles, subscribe now for your free copy delivered right to your door. Email info@canadiantradex.com your request to be added to the distribution list today! Or call us directly at 705-264-2251. For a limited time, subscription is free. International locations will receive digital copies.