Northern Vertex becomes newest gold producer in US

Northern Vertex Mining Corp.’s (TSXV: NEE; US-OTC: NHVCF) open-pit heap leach Moss mine in Arizona has reached commercial production.

The gold-silver mine is expected to produce an average of over 50,000 gold-equivalent ounces a year over the first four years of a ten-year mine life.

The company financed the mine and completed construction in less than two years.

Northern Vertex believes Moss will produce 32,000-36,000 oz. gold and 224,000-248,000 oz. silver (36,000-40,000 gold-equivalent ounces) in the 2019 fiscal year.

The company’s fiscal year-end is June 30 and fiscal 2019 includes ten months of production after commercial production. The company used a 60:1 silver to gold conversion ratio to calculate gold-equivalent ounces.

In fiscal 2020, the company forecasts the mine will produce 52,000-57,000 oz. gold and 451,000-487,000 oz. silver (59,000-65,000 gold-equivalent ounces).

The company is off to a decent start, with the crushing team delivering a record day of 13,000 tonnes compared with the 5,000 tonnes per day estimated in the feasibility study.

Moss’s gold-silver stock-work, brecciated, low sulphidation epithermal system outcrops at surface for over 1.5 km.

The mine, Northern Vertex’s flagship asset, is nine km from Bullhead City and eight km from a state highway.

The company says it plans to become a mid-tier gold producer with over 200,000 ounces of gold production a year, and expects to achieve that goal through mergers and acquisitions.

At presstime in Toronto, Northern Vertex’s shares were trading at $0.30 apiece within a 52-week range of $0.265 and $0.70.

The company has about 180 million shares in total for a market cap of roughly $54.1 million.