Permitting for the Grassy Mountain underground gold mine, which US-based precious metals company Paramount Gold Nevada is developing, took a step forward with the Oregon State Technical Review Team’s (TRT’s) water subcommittee accepting the project’s ground baseline data report (BDR).

The subcommittee will now recommend the report for approval by the full TRT, which is comprised of state agencies involved in the permitting process.

“The acceptance of the groundwater baseline data report represents an important incremental step towards achieving a positive completeness review of the consolidated permit application from the state of Oregon,” said Paramount CEO Rachel Goldman.

Including the groundwater BDR to date, 22 BDRs have been accepted by state regulators. The remaining geochemistry BDR has been filed with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (Dogami) and is expected to be approved later in the month.

“Protecting the integrity of groundwater is of the highest priority for Paramount and all parties engaged in the permitting of Grassy Mountain. We are very pleased with the acknowledgment of the work that has been done to complete the BDR. The groundwater BDR describes the groundwater system within and surrounding the proposed mine and is supported by years of data collection from well pumping tests, piezometer readings dating back to 2017, and 3D modelling of the geological and structural units that play a role in the groundwater system,” added Paramount president and CEO Glen Van Treek.

Currently, the Dogami is reviewing the consolidated permit application submitted by the company in December 2021 including all document revisions and company responses to comments by the agencies from the first application filed in November 2019.

The Grassy Mountain gold project contains a gold/silver deposit, which is 100% located on private land, for which results of a positive feasibility study have been released and key permitting milestones accomplished.