Nord Precious Metals Mining [TSX.V:NTH] said this week it was accelerating its tailings recovery strategy following indications from Ontario’s Minister of Mines George Pirie, who emphasized in a recent strategy document that Ontario is committed to expediting mining projects.
The comments by Pirie were made in a pre-release document on the Ontario mining sector, published by Global Business Reports. “These new changes will be incorporated into the Red Tape Reduction Bill, aiming to streamline the mine approval and permitting process,” Pirie wrote. “Our largest policy initiative currently is the ‘One Project, One Process’ initiative, which aims to break down the confusion and delays Indigenous communities and mining companies encounter.”
Frank J. Basa, President and CEO, added: “Ontario has modernized its approach to mine waste reprocessing. Nord is uniquely positioned to move first and fast – we have the processing facility, the proven results, and importantly, the high-grade silver tailings ready for recovery.”
Nord Precious Metals: first move in new-look Ontario mining sector?
Nord believes it is positioned to be a first mover under Ontario’s modernized mining strategy. Its Miller Creek and Beaver sites hold high-grade silver tailings and it has a processing facility and lab ready for immediate use. The company also has a gravity concentration system in place for near-term production.
The new Strategy Document highlights Ontario’s commitment to streamline permitting processes, particularly for projects that transform legacy mining sites into new assets. Nord’s Miller Creek and Beaver tailings sites, exemplify the type of project Ontario aims to fast-track.
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High grade silver vein system at Castle East
Nord Precious Metals Mining recently discovered a major high-grade silver vein system at Castle East located 1.5 km from its 100%-owned, past-producing Castle Mine near Gowganda in the prolific and world-class silver-cobalt mining district of Northern Ontario. Nord has completed a 60,000m drill program aimed at expanding the size of the deposit with an update to the resource estimate underway.
In May 2020, based on a small initial drill program, Nord Precious Metals published the region’s first 43-101 resource estimate that contained a total of 7.56 million ounces of silver in Inferred resources, comprising very high-grade silver (8,582 grams per tonne un-cut or 250.2 oz/ton) in 27,400 tonnes of material from two sections (1A and 1B) of the Castle East Robinson Zone. This begins at a vertical depth of approximately 400 meters.
Battery metals properties in Quebec
The company also has 14 battery metals properties in Northern Quebec where it has recently completed a nearly 16,000-metre drill program on the Graal property recently spun out to Coniagas Battery Metals, of which Nord owns 35%. It also has the St. Denis-Sangster lithium project – 260 square kilometers of greenfield exploration ground with numerous pegmatites focussed along a significant volcanic sedimentary rock – Archean granite contact near Cochrane, Ontario. This is contiguous to Power Metals’ Case Lake Lithium properties.
The company also has the flagship silver-cobalt Castle mine and 78 sq. km Castle property which feature strong exploration upside for silver, cobalt, nickel, gold, and copper. With underground access at the fully owned Castle mine, an exceptional high-grade silver discovery at Castle East, a pilot plant to produce cobalt-rich gravity concentrates, a processing facility in the town of Cobalt itself, and a proprietary hydrometallurgical process known as Re-2Ox (for the creation of technical-grade cobalt sulphate as well as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) formulations), the company looks strategically positioned to become a Canadian leader in the silver-cobalt space.
