Talisker Resources signs ore purchase deal with New Gold
Talisker Resources Ltd. [TSX-TSK, TSKFF-OTCQB] has announced that through its 100%-owned subsidiary Bralorne Gold Mines Ltd., it has signed an ore purchase agreement with New Gold Inc. (NGD-TSX, NYSE). As part of the agreement, New Gold will purchase up to 350,000 tonnes of material mined at Bralorne. That material will be processed at New Gold’s New Afton mine in British Columbia.
The agreement can be extended by mutual agreement by New Gold and Talisker.
Talisker shares advanced on tbe news, rising 1.7% or $0.005 to 30 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 39 cents and $0.065,
“Having completed the portal and decline construction and resource conversion drilling, this agreement clears the pathway for our planned 2024 production at Bralorne,’’ said Talisker President and CEO Terry Harbot.
Talisker is engaged in gold exploration at two advanced gold projects in British Columbia with significant exploration potential and historic high grade gold production. They are the Bralorne Gold Complex and Ladner project.
Another key asset is an 85% interest in the Spences Bridge Gold Belt and several other early-stage greenfield projects.
Talisker’s flagship asset is the high-grade, fully permitted Bralorne Gold Project where the company is currently transitioning into underground production at the Mustang Mine.
The Bralorne mine complex was one of the highest-grade and longest producing gold mines in British Columbia. It operated for over 50 years. The complex consisted of three mines – Bralorne, Pioneer, and King – which produced 4.2 million ounces of gold at an average recovered grade of 17.7 g/t.
Production ceased in 1971 due to the low gold price at the time.
Bralorne is estimated to contain an indicated resource of 33,000 ounces of gold, and an inferred resource of 1.6 million ounces.
However, Talisker said it believes that somewhere between 2.0 and 2.3 million tonnes ag grades between 8.0 and 9.0 g/t gold (amounting to between 600,000 and 700,000 ounces of gold) may be added to the current resource by drilling exploration targets that are proximal extensions of the currently defined mineralized zones, laterally and at depth.
This view is supported by the drill hole and channel sample data used for the 2023 mineral resource estimate at drill hole spacings greater than the inferred category resources.
Regionally, mineralization has been identified to 2.0 kilometres below surface, and along a strike length of 33 kilometres. Also, of the 63 veins identified, only 30 were mined, 29 of them to a maximum depth of only 900 metres. One vein, the 77T was mined continually to 1.9 kilometres, showing the incredible continuity of the structure.
Talisker was in the news recently when it announced a US$31.25 million financing deal with Sprott Resource Streaming and Royalty Corp. for its Bralorne mine. The financing took the form of a royalty agreement, under which Sprott pledged to pay Talisker up to US$31.25 million for a net smelter return royalty covering all minerals produced from the project.