Hummingbird Resources sold to Nioko Resources in $17.5m cash deal
Hummingbird has flagged continued challenges around operational performance at its two African mines.
Skeena Resources (TSX: SKE) (NYSE: SKE) has unlocked $195 million in funding for its 100%-owned Eskay Creek project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle after further progress was made in its permitting.
On Monday, the company announced that it has been permitted to extract a 10,000-tonne bulk sample, which, according to executive chairman Walter Coles, represents “a major milestone for the company” as it grants the necessary authorizations for all planned development activities at Eskay Creek in 2025.
The permit approval is also significant, Coles added, as it is a condition for the release of the full $200 million gold stream funding from Orion Resource Partners. Skeena already received $5 million from the initial tranche when the deal was signed in June.
Shares of Skeena Resources traded 3.5% higher at C$13.51 apiece following the announcement, giving the company a market capitalization of C$1.46 billion.
The bulk sample application has been the subject of consultation with local indigenous groups and communities. Additional work, including environmental baseline monitoring, engineering design, and safety and reclamation studies, has been completed to support the bulk sample program, Skeena said.
The Eskay Creek project is host to what used to be one of the world’s highest-grade gold mines. Skeena’s aim is to bring back the former underground mine, which operated from 1994 to 2008, as an open pit with a target start date of 2027. Over an estimated 12-year life, it would produce 320,000 oz. of gold-equivalent annually.
To cover the pre-production capex, Orion has committed to a C$1 billion funding package, including the aforementioned $200 million gold stream.
Over the next 12 months, Skeena is expected to continue advancing Eskay Creek through BC’s environmental assessment process, in close collaboration with its Tahltan First Nation partners.
Following the company’s initial environmental assessment application submission in mid-August 2024, the project has formally commenced the 180-day legislated application review process under the BC Environmental Assessment Act.
Skeena is currently receiving and responding to comments from the technical advisory committee, which includes participation from indigenous groups and regulatory agencies. It is also in the process of gathering and responding to feedback from local community members and stakeholders during the public consultation period.
Input from this phase of the review process will inform the final environmental assessment application submission, which the company expects to submit late in first quarter 2025.
Skeena’s management had envisioned to secure its environmental assessment certificate, the Mines Act permit and a construction permit all by the end of next year.
Comments