Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Nighthawk Gold (TSX: NHK) is pleased to see the completion of the 97-km all-season Tlicho Highway, which will mean a shorter ice road to its Indin Lake gold property, 200 km (as the crow flies) north of Yellowknife. The two-lane gravel road follows what used to be a winter road from 40 km south of Behchoko, to the community of Whati in the Northwest Territories.
The road will be open to the public on November 30.
Nighthawk’s Indin Lake property includes the past-producing Colomac gold mine as well as six additional gold targets. The mine was active from 1990 to 1997 during which time it produced over 525,000 oz. of gold.
The company released a resource estimate for Indin Lake earlier this year. Five deposits were included (Colomac, Goldcrest, Grizzly Bear, 24 and 27) that contain 2.25 million oz. of gold in the indicated category (38.7 million tonnes grading 1.81 g/t gold). Inferred resources total 786,000 oz. of gold (11.5 million tonnes at 2.13 g/t gold). All deposits have both open pit and underground resources.
Nighthawk says there is considerable potential to grow the resource, and preliminary metallurgical tests revealed a gold recovery rate of between 96.5% and 98%.
The company is planning between 100,000 and 150,000 metres of drilling in 2022. That will allow a further update to the resources and the preparation of a preliminary economic assessment.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
