The Venezuelan Ministry of Environment has approved the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the exploitation and processing of gold and copper mineralization at Gold Reserve’s (GRZ-T, GRZ-X) Brisas project in the famed Kilometre 88 district of Venezuela’s Bolivar state.
“This approval is a major milestone and will result in immediate actions to commence our construction activities,” says Gold Reserve president Doug Belanger.
Situated beside the higher-profile, larger and long-delayed Las Cristinas gold project of Crystallex International (NKRY-T, KRY-X), Brisas hosts National Instrument 43-101-compliant reserves of 485 million tonnes grading 0.67 gram per tonne gold and 0.13% copper, or 10.4 million oz. gold and 1.3 billion lbs. copper.
This estimate uses a revenue cutoff grade of US$3.04 per tonne, a US$400-per-oz. gold price and a US$1.15-per-lb. copper price.
While Gold Reserve must still finance the mega-project (the company has US$23 million in cash and equivalents and no debt), plans are to carry out conventional open-pit mining, processing 70,000 tonnes of ore per day, yielding an average annual production of 456,000 oz. gold and 60 million lbs. over 18.5 years.
Gold Reserve’s shares responded to the good news accordingly on March 28, shooting up $2.53, or 49%, to $7.66 on 1.4 million shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. On the AMEX, shares closed up US$2.16 at US$6.59.
Shares in Crystallex rallied in sympathy, closing 29% higher at $4.50 in Toronto and US$3.93 on the AMEX.
In a release, Crystallex’s new president and CEO, Gordon Thompson, said that the awarding of the Brisas environmental permit is “a clear signal that Venezuela is fulfilling its promise to advance mining projects.”
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