The Snip project is located in the Tahltan Territory.
London-listed Hochschild Mining has given notice to Canadian firm Skeena Resources to terminate its option to earn-in a 60% interest in the Snip gold project, in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia.
CEO Ignacio Bustamante says Hochschild enjoyed working in Canada, but that it is currently focusing its capital on later-stage projects in the portfolio, notably the Mara Rosa project in Brazil.
"We would like to express our gratitude for the support we have received from the Tahltan Nation, the British Columbia government, employees and suppliers during our one-and-a-half years working at the Snip gold project.”
Termination of the option is effective immediately and, as a result, Hochschild has no liability to complete the aggregate expenditure requirement. Hochschild also states that it has provided confirmation to Skeena that it has satisfied the minimum annual expenditure requirement in respect of the 12-month period that started on October 14. Accordingly, no cash payment is due from Hochschild to Skeena under the terms of the option agreement.
Skeena president and CEO Randy Reichert says the company plans to investigate opportunities to bolster the Eskay Creek mine life by processing Snip ore at the Eskay Creek mill.
"We are thrilled to have 100% of Snip back in our portfolio," he says.
Held by Skeena, Snip consists of one mining lease and eight mineral claims totalling 4 546 ha in the Tahltan Territory. Skeena acquired Snip from Barrick Gold in 2017.
The former Snip mine produced about one-million ounces of gold from 1991 until 1999 at an average gold grade of 27.5 g/t. Since then, the project has been improved with the recent construction of nearby infrastructure and substantially higher gold prices.