Gold King Corp, a subsidiary of U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ: USAU), has taken another step towards getting drills in the ground in Wyoming.
The company received its Surface Gold Mine Permit from the Director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ), originally dated April 29, 2024.
The company made an announcement regarding the operating permit on Wednesday, with George Bee, the president and CEO of U.S. Gold saying that the company has cleared major regulatory rockblocks towards project development.
The company is presently working on meeting the conditions to acquire final authorization. This includes reclamation bond approval and the company has already submitted for it.
Additionally, the process for the Wyoming Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) is in its final stages of approval, and the Department of Environmental Quality Air Quality Division permits, where the company’s technical work is still under review.
The company anticipates having the necessary permits in hand by around mid-year, as per its original guidance.
The remaining mine operating permit conditions as per the WDEQ Director’s letter of approval include several mandates.
The first mandate includes a prohibition against the operator starting any construction or mining activities without the approval for the reclamation performance bond, set at USD$5 million as detailed in the Director’s Bond Letter dated February 20, 2024.
Additionally, the application identifies multiple discharge points requiring WPDES permits. The operator, having applied for these permits, must await final approval. As a non-significant revision to the approved permit, the operator is required to provide an updated map of approved discharge locations and a list of WYPDES permit numbers as soon as they are available.
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U.S. Gold shifted exploration to development in 2020
The company cannot conduct discharge activities until these permits are approved and incorporated into the permit. Furthermore, the operator cannot start any construction or mining activities without first obtaining the necessary WDEQ-Air Quality Division permits. As part of the NSR to the approved permit, they must also insert a copy of the approved AQD permits into the agree-upon mining plan once they become available.
“This is an outstanding accomplishment,” Luke Norman, executive chairman of U.S. Gold Corp., said. “Since shifting the Company’s focus in August 2020 from exploration to the development of the CK Gold Project, through the receipt of the Mine Operating Permit, is a remarkable achievement.”
U.S. Gold Corp. shifted its focus from exploration to development in 2020, starting with the CK Gold Project in Wyoming, previously known as Copper King. The project, which had been dormant and last assessed in 2012, underwent extensive environmental baseline studies starting in 2020. By 2022, the Mine Operating Plan and Closure Plan Permit application was submitted and deemed complete, leading to a thorough review and subsequent revisions in response to WDEQ comments. The permit was officially approved in April 2024 after a public notice period.
Following the permit approval, the company resumed its paused feasibility study, initially started in 2022 but suspended in 2023 due to concerns about timing, post-pandemic economic conditions, and changes necessitated by WDEQ’s review. The prefeasibility study is set to be updated by the third quarter of 2024, with the feasibility study expected to follow, incorporating potential project enhancements.
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