Maritime Resources hits Hammerdown gold milestone
Maritime Resources Corp. [MAE-TSXV] has announced the completion of all major project permitting for its Hammerdown gold project in the Baie Verte mining district of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The company owns two gold processing facilities, Pine Cove and Nugget Pond, assets that are located near the town of Baie Verte and present opportunities for toll milling, the company has said.
Maritime completed a feasibility study in 2022 for the re-start of the Hammerdown mine as a high-grade open pit project shipping sorted feed to the Nugget Pond mill for final processing.
The company said the Department of Industry, Energy and Technology (IET) of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador has approved the closure and development plans for the Hammerdown project.
“Receiving approval of the Closure and Development plans for Hammerdown is a significant milestone for the company and a testament to the project’s strong environmental attributes,’’ said Maritime President and CEO Garett Macdonald.
“Hammerdown is one of North America’s highest grade open pit gold projects which when paired with our existing fully permitted Pine Cove mill and tailings storage facility, creates a unique opportunity in the market for strong near-term cash flow and attractive returns for shareholders,’’ he said.
Maritime Resources holds a 100% interest in the Green Bay property near Springdale Newfoundland and Labrador. The property hosts the past-producing Hammerdown gold mine, the Orion gold deposit, and Lochinvar precious metals deposit.
The Hammerdown Mine was last operated by Richmont Mines between 2000 and 2003, producing 143,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 15.7 g/t through a combination of narrow vein, open pit and underground mining. The ore was processed at the Nugget Pond mill. Richmont was acquired by Alamos Gold Inc. [AGI-TSX, NYSE] in November, 2017.
Mining concluded in 2004 due to low gold prices with mineralization remaining, although uneconomic at the time.
Based on a 2022 technical report for the project, Hammerdown contains proven and probable reserves of 272,000 ounces of gold at 4.46 g/t, including proven reserves of 106,000 ounces of gold grading 5.96 g/t and probable reserves of 166,000 ounces of gold grading 3.95 g/t.
The 2022 Technical Report showed after-tax economics of $103 million NPV (5.0%), an internal rate of return of 48% and all-in-sustaining costs of US$912 per ounce at a gold price of US$1,750 an ounce. The study envisaged initial costs estimated at $75 million utilizing the company’s Nugget Pond gold plant for mineral processing. With the acquisition of the 1,300 tonne-per-day Pine Cove mill facility and other assets from Signal Gold Inc. [SGNL-TSX, SGNL-OTCQX] in August 2023 the company believes that lower capital and operating costs can be realized due to its proximity to Hammerdown and the complete gold circuit.
Maritime shares were priced at $0.03 on Friday and trade in a 52-week range of $0.055 and $0.03.