North Bay Resources Inc. (OTC:NBRI) has completed the sale of its first gold concentrate shipment from the Fran Gold Project.
The sale, which involved roughly 10 tons of ore processed through the mill's gravity circuit, was finalized after assay comparisons and settlement with a Nevada-based refinery.
The company said the value of the sale equated to about $400 per ton of ore.
North Bay said it expects recovery and value per ton to improve significantly following the implementation of a flotation circuit this month, which could double gold recovery and raise value per ton to about $800.
The company aims to achieve total recovery rates exceeding 90%, supported by metallurgical testing that demonstrated up to 97% recovery when both gravity and flotation methods are used.
A second test shipment is currently in process and a third has recently been completed, North Bay added.
Recent geological modeling of the Fran Gold Project, based on drilling data from a few years ago, has identified a bulk-tonnage gold deposit. The model suggests the deposit is open at depth and along strike, with potential for parallel systems.
The company is also working to reduce transportation costs, which ran about $300 per ton for the most recent 120-ton shipment. A newly opened rail siding near the Fran Gold Project—built for ore transport from Artemis Gold’s nearby Blackwater Mine—is expected to lower those costs to around $200 per ton.
North Bay said milling costs remain low due to the limited volume being processed during optimization. Operating costs are projected at $35 per ton at full capacity of 100 tons per day, with tariffs estimated at $25 per ton or less. The company expects mill economics to eventually support margins of roughly $500 per ton, with $800 in revenue and $300 in combined costs.
Seventy-five tons of ore are currently stockpiled at the Bishop Mill, with an additional 5,000 tons at the project site. The company has begun commissioning its concentrate drying circuit to improve efficiency and reduce moisture ahead of refinery shipments.
The Fran project lies near two of the largest gold and copper-gold operations in North America: Centerra Gold’s Mt. Milligan Mine and Artemis Gold’s Blackwater Mine.