The mineral bounty of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona is legendary, but the hard work of finding new deposits continues. Here are nine new projects large and small that are catching attention.
BARRICK GOLD
Barrick Gold’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: ABX) phenomenal Goldrush gold discovery in Nevada in 2011 and Alturas discovery in Peru in 2013 are a strong counter-argument to the common complaint that large mining companies can’t find their own deposits.
According to a 2015 prefeasibilty study at Goldrush, which tallied 8.6 million oz. gold grading 10.58 grams gold per tonne, it would cost US$1 billion to build an underground mine that would produce an average of 440,000 oz. gold annually at all-in sustaining costs of US$665 per oz. gold.
With feasibility study work underway, mine construction could start as early as 2020, with a first gold pour in 2021.
Goldrush is 6 km from Barrick’s Cortez mine and 140 km from its Goldstrike gold mine complex. Because Goldrush mineralization is refractory, it will have to be processed at the Goldstrike roaster.
An aerial view of Capstone Mining’s Minto copper-gold-silver mine in the Yukon, as seen in 2014. Credit: Minto Mining.
CAPSTONE MINING
Vancouver-based Capstone Mining (TSX: CS) has grown into a substantial miner, with three operating copper mines: Pinto Valley in Arizona, Cozamin in Mexico and Minto in the Yukon.
Pinto Valley is an open-pit copper-molybdenum-silver mine in the historic Globe-Miami copper district, 125 km east of Phoenix, and was bought from BHP Billiton in October 2013. The mill has a throughput rate of 54,000 tonnes per day, and last year the head grade was 0.4% copper, with 60,400 tonnes copper produced in cathode and in concentrate.
In 2012, the mine had a five-year life ahead, but substantive work by Capstone has extended the projected mine life to 2039.
As of Jan. 1, reserves at Pinto Valley stood at 474 million tonnes grading 0.3% copper and 0.01% moly for 1.5 million tonnes contained copper. Another 1.5 billion tonnes at slightly lower grades are in the resource category.
CROWN MINING
In June, micro-cap Crown Mining (TSXV: CWM) raised $250,000 in a private placement, and is directing the funds towards its Lights Creek copper project in northeastern California’s Plumas County.
The project comprises four copper deposits in a quartz monzonite intrusion, which combined offer a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource of over 2 billion lb. copper, 750,000 oz. gold and 25 million oz. silver. Specifically, the Moonlight deposit has 147 million indicated tonnes at 0.3% copper and 80 million inferred tonnes at 0.3% copper, while the Superior mine deposit adds 54 million inferred tonnes at 0.4% copper.
Crown notes copper was discovered at Lights Creek in 1883, and it was mined on a large scale from 1915 until 1930. Placer Amex explored the property from 1960–1972, drilling over 400 holes and estimating a historic resource of over 4 billion lb. copper.
GOLDEN QUEEN MINING
Vancouver-based Golden Queen Mining (TSX:GQM; US-OTC: GQMNF) is a gold and silver producer with a new, 50%-owned Soledad Mountain gold mine near Mojave in southeastern California, which a conventional open-pit, heap-leach operation with Merrill-Crowe recovery.
In July, the company raised $16.1 million, with net proceeds used to repay part of a loan due in December.
Production at Soledad is ramping up, with 2,905 oz. gold and 29,284 oz. silver poured in July, and the company expecting an average throughput of 10,000 to 11,000 tons per day in the second half of 2016.
Production would average 74,000 oz. gold and 781,000 oz. silver per year, with substantial fluctuations depending on head grade. Over the 11-year mine life, total output is projected at 807,000 oz. gold and 8.3 million oz. silver.
KINROSS GOLD
In January 2016, Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) acquired 100% of the Bald Mountain open-pit, heap-leach gold mine, located in the southern extension of the Nevada’s Carlin trend, as part of a US$610-million cash deal with Barrick Gold.
Bald Mountain produced 161,000 equivalent oz. gold in 2015, and Kinross says the mine could have an annual production range of 175,000 to 300,000 equivalent oz. gold, with an annual all-in sustaining cost range of US$700 to US$1,130 per equivalent oz. gold over the three-year period from 2016 through 2018.
As of Dec. 31, 2014, Bald Mountain had proven and probable gold reserves of 1.36 million oz. based on 60 million tonnes at 0.70 gram gold equivalent per tonne, plus measured and indicated resources of 4.2 million oz. based on 207 million tonnes of 0.63 equivalent gram gold.
Kinross says brownfield and greenfield exploration will be “key aspects” of its strategy going forward at Bald Mountain to build the resource and reserve base.
The processing plant built by Lithium Americas and Posco at the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Argentina. Credit: Lithium Americas.
LITHIUM AMERICAS
While Vancouver-based Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC; US-OTC: LACDF) (which changed its name from “Western Lithium” in March) has a focus on its Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Argentina’s Jujuy province, it also has a foot in Nevada’s burgeoning lithium scene, with its Lithium Nevada project (formerly named the Kings Valley project), which it describes as “one of the largest lithium resources in North America.”
Lithium Americas says it is intent on advancing engineering studies to produce lithium hydroxide on a commercial scale at Lithium Nevada in Humboldt County, and wants to set “new standards for environmental sustainable resource development.”
MCEWEN MINING
McEwen Mining (TSX: MAI; NYSE: MUX) has two development-stage gold projects in Nevada: Gold Bar and Tonkin in the Battle Mountain-Eureka-Cortez gold trend of Eureka County.
McEwen is spending US$3.5 million at Gold Bar in 2016. The scope of its feasibility study is a conventional open-pit mine, with an oxide gold heap leach recovery circuit; an initial $60-million capital cost; 20% after-tax internal rate of return at US$1,150 per oz.; a 65,000 oz. gold average annual production; and an estimated cash cost of US$728 per oz. gold.
If the mine is approved by regulators in early 2017, mine construction would follow over the next 10 to 12 months.
According to a 2008 estimate, Tonkin has a measured and indicated resource of 32.3 million tonnes at 1.4 grams gold per tonne for 1.5 million oz. gold.
NORTHERN SPHERE MINING
Northern Sphere Mining (CSE: NSM) is a microcap company based in Toronto with an eye on gold and silver, and is aiming to raise $1.5 million in a private placement.
Over the last few months at its 80%-owned Arizona silver property in Arizona, it has produced 500 oz. silver from a pilot run and built a stockpile of 300 tonnes of high-grade feed material while it dewatered and cleared the adit at its Buckeye mine.
An in-situ copper recovery well field in 2012 at the Florence copper project in Arizona, now owned by Taseko Mines. Credit: Curis Resources.
TASEKO MINES
Taseko Mines (TSX: TKO) is well known among miners in B.C., but is also active southeast of Phoenix, Ariz., at its Florence in-situ recovery copper project, acquired via its takeover of Curis Resources in November 2014.
Probable reserves stand at 340 million tons grading 0.3% copper for 2.4 billion lb. copper. The project looks good on paper, with power, transportation, road and rail infrastructure in place; a pre-tax net present value of US$850 million, with a 31% internal rate of return at an 8% discount rate; and life-of-mine direct operating costs of US80¢ per lb. copper recovered.
Taseko says most of Phase 1 operating permits are in place at Florence, with two outstanding permits needed to move forward with a test facility.
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