Newfoundland’s junior miner Big Ridge Gold Corp. (TSX-V: BRAU) has significantly upped its stake in a long-standing gold project in the province’s southwest corner.
The company exercised its second earn-in right at the Hope Brook joint venture operation with First Mining Gold Corp. (TSX: FF) (OTCQX: FFMGF) and increased its interest by 29 per cent to an aggregate 80 per cent. Big Ridge gave its partner company 10 million shares for the additional ownership last week.
“The completion of the earn-in adds approximately 420,000 attributable gold ounces to Big Ridge’s robust resource base and eliminates required project expenditures of approximately C$4.2 million as part of the stage 2 earn-in,” Big Ridge President Michael Bandrowski said.
Hope Brook produced over 750,000 ounces of gold between 1987 and 1995 before activity temporarily ceased. It still holds an estimated 1.2 million ounces of indicated gold and several million pounds of inferred copper resources.
The mine is located 85 kilometres southeast of the fishing town Port aux Basques. It has a 28-person camp, a substation connected to Newfoundland’s power grid and an airstrip.
Big Ridge and First Mining Gold (FMG) initiated their partnership at the property in 2021. The project was acquired by FMG in 2015.
The mine’s primary deposit is approximately 500 metres wide and its 10 claims span over 24,000 hectares.
Map: First Mining Gold
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Major Newfoundland gold mine on schedule for production next year
The province recently had an established international gold producer acquire a local mine for the first time. Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX: CXB) (OTCQX: CXBMF) obtained Newfoundland’s Valentine gold project through its acquisition of Marathon Gold in January.
Progress is continually being made at the site. Calibre recently secured a commissioning contract for Valentine’s process plant. It is expected to produce 195,000 ounces per annum for 12 years once production starts during the first half of 2025.
Recent high-grade core samples at Valentine indicated strong potential for resource expansion in the surrounding area.
The Australian company Matador Mining Limited (ASX: MZZ) (OTCQB: MZZMF) just discovered a significant gold-bearing structure at its Hermitage project directly south of the Valentine mine.
“Through our efforts, including our world-class approach to exploration,” Matador chief executive Sam Pazuki said, “we have identified what appears to be a regional-scale structure spanning nearly the full 27-kilometre strike length of our Hermitage property.”
In another recent development in the province’s gold mining industry, Maritime Resources Corp. (TSX-V: MAE) just received a full permit for its Hammerdown mine. The company has invested C$75 million into the Baie Verte mining district project.
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