First Mining to begin environmental assessment at Ontario gold project

First Mining Gold (TSX: FF) has received approval from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks on the environmental terms of reference for the Springpole gold project. The 100%-owned project is 110 km northeast of Red Lake.

The approval marks the formal beginning of the provincial environmental assessment process and allows First Mining to move forward with the project.

The terms of reference describes the purpose of the project, alternative designs for it and how they will be evaluated, as well as the potential effects of the project to be considered and assessment methodology. It also outlines how Indigenous communities, government agencies and all other public stakeholders will be engaged and consulted throughout the process.

As proposed in the 2021 pre-feasibility study, the Springpole project is expected to produce 335,000 oz. of gold annually in the first nine years of an 11-year mine life. The PFS outlines an after-tax net present value with a 5% discount of $995 million and an internal rate of return of 29%.

The Springpole deposit has an indicated resource of 151 million tonnes grading 0.94 g/t gold and 5 g/t silver, for 4.6 million oz. of contained gold and 24.3 million oz. of contained silver. Inferred resources come to 16 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold and 2.8 g/t silver, for 300,000 oz. of contained gold and 1.4 million oz. of contained silver.

Within the resources are the proven and probable reserves: 121.6 million tonnes grading 0.97 g/t gold and 5.23 g/t silver for 3.8 million oz. of contained gold and 20.5 million oz. of contained silver.

(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)