Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved Blackrock Gold’s (TSXV: BRC) proposed core drill program at the Silver Cloud project located in Elko County, Nevada.
In a press release, Blackrock said that it recruited EM Strategies in order to submit the proposed drill program to the BLM on July 12, 2019, and received final clearance, including an archeology site review on August.
The Silver Cloud drill program includes the Silver Cloud mercury mine and Northwest Canyon area, as well as the newly discovered NE vein target
“With permits now in hand we are readying to follow up on the high-grade gold intercepts found by Teck and Placer Dome,” the Canadian miner’s CEO, Andrew Pollard, said in the media brief. “We are bringing drilling back to Silver Cloud for this first time in 15 years. Our new geologic interpretation of the low sulphidation epithermal gold east-west vein system with 2 kilometres of strike potential allows us to test our model immediately between the Silver Cloud mercury mine and Northwest Canyon.”
Pollard also said that the company intends to start off with a program consisting of 2,000 metres between four holes, going back to where Teck and Placer Dome encountered high-grade gold. The executive suggested that the aim is to expand the program up to 10,000 metres of permitted drilling along strike if the model is proven successful.
“In addition, the NE vein target found 5 kilometres to the north of the Silver Cloud mercury mine, represents a newly identified, previously undrilled priority section of the property. Bids have been received by multiple drilling contractors and we intend to make a selection shortly, with an aim to have drills turning in September 2019,” Pollard said.
Silver Cloud is a 4,537-hectare claim block located near the confluence of the Carlin Trend and the Northern Nevada Rift within Nevada’s north-central region.
