British Columbia-based explorer and developer Gold Mountain is set to begin construction at its Elk Gold project, near Merritt, British Columbia, this month, following authorisation last week to put the gold and silver mine back into production.
The company has received a notice of departure (NoD), which allows it to begin construction and site preparation at Elk Gold under its existing M-199 mine permit.
CEO Kevin Smith said in a statement on Friday that feedback from institutions had been that Gold Mountain’s projected timelines for the past-producing Elk Gold – which it aims to develop into a million-ounce producer – might be difficult to achieve.
"Receiving this NoD allows us to take the critical steps of upgrading our existing water management system, installing a weigh scale, as well as leveraging a gravel borrow to start stripping waste from our initial pit and repurpose it into aggregate needed to resurface roads throughout the property. By getting into construction early, we will be ready to hit the ground running once our various mine permit amendments are approved,” he said.
With the snow on site nearly gone, Gold Mountain’s mine construction partner, Nhwelmen-Lake, had been notified to begin mobilising its equipment, in anticipation of developing the mine.
Gold Mountain was formed through the merger of Bayshore Minerals and Freeform Capital in December last year.