Minnova/Rea Gold Get Approvals For B.C. Silver Mine

The British Columbia government has approved the Stage I permit for the construction and building of mine facilities on the Samatosum silver project located near Adams Lake, B.C. Minnova Inc. (TSE) holds a 70% interest and is project operator, while Rea Gold (TSE) holds a 30% working interest and a 5% net smelter royalty.

Minnova intends to recommend approval of the construction program to place the mine into production at its quarterly board meeting later this month. Meanwhile, crews under the direction of engineering contractor, Proton Systems, have moved onto the site to begin work on clearing the mill site, tailings dam, waste dump and road sites. A 10,000-ft exploration diamond drill program is also continuing on the property.

The Samatosum deposit has an undiluted mineral inventory of 661,000 tons grading 32.10 oz silver and 0.052 oz gold per ton 1.2% copper, 3.5% zinc and 1.7% lead. The feasibility study calls for the deposit to be mined by a combination of open pit and underground methods and milled at a rate of 465 tons per day.