Solar, EVs and a big exit from coal: 2024’s good climate news
Solar capacity around the world was rolled out at a record pace, as bargain panel prices helped countries deploy cleaner energy.
Integra Resources (TSXV: ITR; NYSE: ITRG) announced Wednesday that the mine plan of operations (MPO) for its DeLamar project in Idaho has been accepted by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the company can now proceed with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
The DeLamar project is about 100 km from the capital of Boise, and it includes the historic DeLamar gold mine and the Florida Mountain gold-silver deposit. The mine was previously owned by Kinross, which Integra acquired in 2017, with all existing infrastructure in place.
The MPO approval is a critical step in permitting for DeLamar and incorporates nearly three years of environmental baseline studies, initial engineering design, and detailed descriptions of mining and reclamation activities proposed for the project, Integra said.
The BLM will next publish the notice of intent (NOI), which will allow for the commencement of work on the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The NOI step of the NEPA permitting process signifies the formal engagement with all cooperating governmental agencies and stakeholders.
DeLamar is one of the few gold-silver development projects in the Western US that will be actively advancing through the NEPA mine permitting process, the company said.
“The acceptance of the MPO for DeLamar is a major milestone on the path to permitting mining activities at DeLamar,” said Integra CEO Jason Kosec in a news release.
“The company looks forward to continuing to work with the BLM through the NEPA process and remains committed to responsible mining practices, environmental protection, and serving community interests,” Kosec added.
The total measured and indicated resource is 247.8 million tonnes grading 0.32 g/t gold (containing 2.9 million oz. gold) and 18.1 g/t silver (142.7 million oz. silver). The inferred resource is 43.1 million tonnes at 0.31 g/t gold and 10.8 g/t silver. All told, there are almost 4.8 million gold-equivalent oz. at the project.
The DeLamar resource estimate includes oxide, mixed and non-oxide material at DeLamar and non-oxide material at Florida Mountain, stockpiles and heap leaching ores.
The 2022 prefeasibility study gave DeLamar an after-tax net present value with a 5% discount of $314 million and an internal rate of return of 33% with a gold price of $1,700/oz. and a silver price of $21.50/oz.
Integra Resources’ stock was up over 7% at the end of Wednesday’s trading in New York, with trading volume nearly doubled. The company has an $80.6 million market capitalization.
