Published: May 29, 2018 |

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Paramount Gold Nevada Corp released its pre-feasibility study on its proposed gold mine in Malheur County Thursday, and the report is good for proceeding with the project, located south of Vale.

“The pre-feasibility study confirms robust economics for a proposed underground mining operation at the current gold price,” reads the company’s news release.

Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. owns 100 percent of the mining project at Grassy Mountain just north of Owyhee Reservoir, upon the purchase of Calico Resources USA in 2016, which had been developing the project since 2012.

“The [study] clearly shows that Grassy Mountain is a mine worth building,” said Glen Van Treek, Paramount’s president and CEO, in a news release statement.

“The results demonstrate a low-cost operation that would deliver exceptional cash-flows over its mine life at the current gold price. The scale and simplicity of the proposed operation is one that we are very confident Paramount can build and manage,” continued Van Treek.

In addition, the study “identifies significant opportunities for improving project economics and finding more ore to extend mine life.”

The company is in the middle of a consolidated permitting process, led by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. This process involves other state departments which will be issuing their own permits once the company’s consolidated application has been reviewed and approved.

According to DOGAMI’s webpage on the Grassy Mountain project, the remaining steps in the process include filing the application, which will include a plan of operations, baseline data which the company has been collecting for several months, a plan for reclamation and closure and alternative analysis.

The company is also working with the Bureau of Land Management on writing an Environmental Impact Statement.

Once the application is turned in and deemed complete, a notice to proceed will be issued, along with preparation of draft permits. There would then be a public comment period, followed by issuance of the final permit and a possible consolidated contested case, if one is requested.

“The study is an important piece in the permit approval process,” Van Treek said. “This process is well-advanced and has been marked by a transparent regulatory environment and a positive response from the Oregon state government. “Having proved the basic concept of a profitable underground mine at Grassy Mountain, we will now work on optimizing the PFS and expanding our resource base with targeted exploration,” VanTreek concluded.

According to information in the company’s news release, once the mine is operational the estimated production would be about 47,000 ounces of gold annually, plus 50,000 ounces of silver for more than seven years.

Initial capital costs were estimated at $110 million, including $12 million in development and pre-productions costs, $13.6 million in capital costs and more than $14 million for contingencies.

It is projected that the pay back on those costs would be two and a-half years.

The mining operation will be underground with horizontal accesses to different levels.

“The processing plant will consist of a crushing facility, gravity separation, carbon in leach processing of gravity tails, resulting in a mill processing capacity of 750 tons per day,” reads the news release.

The mine site is located on private and federal land, hence the need for the environmental impact statement. This will also require improvements to the access road in order to handle the additional traffic.

Another requirement will be the construction of a power line to provide power to the site, instead of using a diesel-powered generator.

Following start-up, the mine should produce anywhere from 1,300 to 1,400 tons of ore per day, sending enough material to the mill and processing plant to operate at full capacity for seven days per week.

Source: The Argus Observer

To stop by Paramount’s website, CLICK HERE

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