Fortitude Gold Corp (OTCQB:FTCO) said it has received permit approval for the expansion of the Isabella Pearl heap leach pad located in Mineral County, Nevada.
The junior gold producer said an expansion to the existing heap leach pad is required to accommodate the additional ore reserve tonnes defined during exploration drill campaigns in 2019 and 2020.
“The newly permitted area for pad expansion is larger than the initial phase two expansion area slated for construction,” said the company, adding that this allows it to expand the pad further in future under these existing permits.
READ: Fortitude Gold has five high-grade gold properties in Nevada, with strong production already coming from its Isabella Pearl mine
Fortitude said its management is “optimistic” that current and future exploration drilling on the larger Isabella Pearl mineralized property trend “may define additional open-pit gold deposits that could be processed on an expanded Isabella Pearl heap leach pad.”
The firm said the heap leach pad construction contractor is mobilizing equipment to the site and phase two construction is expected to begin shortly. "Construction is targeted to be completed late in the fourth quarter of 2021, or early in the first quarter of 2022," said the company. The phase two pad expansion budget is around $3 million to be funded from operating cash flow, noted Fortitude.
In a statement, Fortitude Gold CEO Jason Reid said: "Our environmental, engineering and permitting teams have done a great job working with the regulators to finalize and secure this heap leach expansion permit. We did not want to simply permit enough additional heap leach pad space for the Isabella Pearl mine's recently added ounces but wanted to be in a stronger position to process additional ore discovered on the extensive Isabella Pearl property trend.”
“This phase two pad expansion is expected to take care of our processing needs through 2024 and also gives us the flexibility to expand the heap leach pad even further if needed in the future. An added benefit to this pad expansion permit is the new mine plan project boundary was pushed to the west and now encompasses a large part of the Scarlet drill target. This gives us added flexibility with exploration and possible pit development within the new project boundary,” he added.
Reid also noted that the Scarlet target adjacent to the Isabella Pearl pit has returned some “exciting drill results.”
“We look to expand on those results and discover another open pit on the Isabella Pearl's extensive mineralized trend,” added Reid. “This new heap leach permit is in place for future expansion beyond the current phase two when needed."
The junior gold producer has five high-grade gold properties in Nevada’s Walker Lane Mineral Belt, with the Isabella Pearl mine in current production. Fortitude sees the Isabella Pearl mine producing 40,000 gold ounces in 2021.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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