Galleon Gold is finishing the paperwork to enter the test mining phase at its West Cache Project, west of Timmins.
The Toronto gold company said in a news release that it’s making final planning and engineering preparations to take a 86.500-tonne bulk sample from its proposed gold mine once the provincial permits come in.
“We are entering the final stretch for completion of the detailed engineering design and documentation required for submission of our bulk sample permit application,” said company CEO R. David Russell in a statement.
A bulk sample is a large volume of mineralized rock that’s excavated for metallurgical testing in the evaluation of a mine.
The company said the bulk sample should produce 22,600 ounces at 8.13 grams per tonne of gold.
“At gold prices above US$1,900 an ounce, we expect gross revenue of C$50 million for this stage of development,” said Russell.
The 3,765-hectare West Cache Project is 13 kilometres west of the city and seven kilometres from Pan American Silver's Timmins West Mine. Highway 101 runs across the property.
Before the company can move into this stage of advanced exploration work, the province has to grant a key permit in the form of a closure plan. It outlines how the site will be remediated once the mining has concluded on the property.
When exactly this bulk sample will be taken, the company didn't specify. But it's targeting a fall submission of their closure plan, followed by a 45-day consultation period before they will receive formal approval from the provincial mines ministry.
Soon the company will launch a bidding process to secure a contractor to do the site preparation, build the underground ramp, and do the ore extraction.
There are other permits to obtain including for industrial sewage works, air, noise and permits to take water and various construction permits. Consultation updates will be done with area First Nations and the general public in the coming weeks.
“We look forward to receiving permits, awarding construction contracts and breaking ground,” added Russell.
Galleon released a preliminary economic assessment of West Cache in January 2022 for an 11-year mine life.
The company said testing mining will feed into the next technical stage of mine evaluation, a pre-feasibility study, while they work to open up more space underground for development work and drilling to expand the gold resource.
West Cache will be a ramp access mine. To access its Zone #9 ore body to pull the bulk sample, 2,525 metres of underground development has been designed.
Hydro One is studying what the company’s power needs will be for a planned connection in the first quarter of 2024.
