Liberty delivers new estimate for Idaho gold project
Liberty Gold Corp. [LGD-TSX] has announced an updated mineral resource estimate for its Black Pine Oxide Gold project in southeastern Idaho. The latest estimate will form the basis of an on-going pre-feasibility study that is expected to be announced in the third quarter of 2024.
The company said the project contains an indicated resource of 203.8 million tonnes or 3.2 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.49 g/t gold. On top of that is an inferred resource of 325,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.42 g/t gold in 24.1 million tonnes.
The updated resource represents an increase of 593,000 indicated gold ounces in comparison to an earlier estimate released in 2023.
It also includes a high-grade subset of the resource contained within the 0.2 g/t resource pit applying a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t gold, consisting of an indicated resource of 1.76 million ounces grading 1.01 g/t gold and an inferred resource of 143,000 ounces grading 0.91 g/t gold.
The company said an analysis of the mineralization at lower cut-off grades suggests that significant upside potential exists for recovery of additional ounces in a future mine at Black Pine by applying operational cut-off grades similar to run-of-mine oxide operations in the Great Basin.
Liberty Gold shares were unchanged at 25 cents. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of 67 cents and 23 cents.
Liberty Gold is focused on the discovery and advancement of large gold deposits that can be mine profitably in open pit scenarios. Its portfolio of projects are located in the United States and Europe. Its flagship projects are Goldstrike in southwest Utah, Black Pine in southeastern Utah, and Kinsley Mountain in southeast Elko County, Nevada. All three are past-producing open pit mines.
Black Pine is located in the northern Great Basin, immediately adjacent to the Utah/Idaho border. It is a Carlin-style system, which produced 435,000 ounces of gold between 1992 and 1997 a period of historically low gold prices. The gold was extracted from shallow pits.
Liberty recently announced the successful completion of a previously announced purchase and resale of a 0.5% net smelter royalty on the Black Pine project as well as the closing of a non-brokered private placement that raised proceeds of US$5.7 million.
The company said it acquired the existing 0.5% NSR from a private company on certain claims at Black Pine by delivering US$3.5 million in cash and 200,000 common shares. Concurrently, Liberty said it had granted an affiliate of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM-TSX, WPM-NYSE) a new 0.5% NSR covering all claims on Black Pine in return for US$3.6 million in cash.
Liberty has the option to repurchase 50% of the royalty for US$3.6 million.