US-focused i-80 has secured water rights for the development and operation of the Cove openpit mine, which is a key project in the company’s plans to restart the Lone Tree autoclave.
The TSX-listed company has signed an agreement to acquire a property package in Lander county that includes, among other things 582-acre-feet of water rights and a rail heading on the Nevada Central Railway from Baker Huges Oilfield Operations.
The property also includes several advanced-stage barite deposits, full barite processing infrastructure and known gold mineralised zones. The US Geological Survey lists barite as a ‘critical mineral’.
McCoy-Cove is one of four project projects that i-80 is advancing for development. Construction of the decline at Cove is under way. About 40 000 m of underground definition and expansion drilling is anticipated to start in the second half of the year, followed by the completion of a feasibility study in 2023.
The Cove deposit represents one of North America’s highest-grade gold deposits with grades of more than 10 g/t.