お知らせ • Dec 23
Midas Gold Completes Positive Feasibility Study for the Stibnite Gold Project, Idaho
Midas Gold Corp. announced the results of an independent Feasibility Study and technical report completed on its Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho. The Project, as envisioned in the FS, would become one of the highest-grade open pit gold mines in the United States and the country's only primary producer of antimony, a critical and strategic mineral. The FS builds upon Midas Gold's Plan of Restoration and Operations ("PRO"), identifying a suite of operational improvements and environmental refinements to achieve the Company's key objective for the financially viable restoration and brownfields development of the Stibnite mining district. The FS affirms that the Project can address legacy impacts left behind by previous mining operators including the recovery, reprocessing and safe storage of historical tailings, restoration of fish passage, stream restoration, and reforestation. The FS verifies a positive local economic benefit to Idaho communities bringing more than $1 billion in initial capital investment, approximately 550 direct jobs during operations, and hundreds of indirect and induced jobs, while generating significant taxes and other benefits to the local, state and national economies. Key studies and operational refinements incorporated into the FS include: Updated geological models and mineral resource estimates based on new drilling; Optimization of pit geometries and mine sequencing to reduce project footprint, minimize water management requirements, eliminate the Fiddle development rock storage facility, and reduce the size of the Hangar Flats pit while allowing for its complete backfilling; A strategy for stockpiling low-grade ore supporting an extended operating life and lower strip ratio; Process flowsheet optimizations to enhance metallurgical recoveries and improve environmental outcomes;
Addition of an onsite lime plant to reduce ore processing operating costs and mine access road traffic impacts; Development of comprehensive water management and water treatment plans including placement of covers on development rock storage facility; and, Incorporation of an access road through site for public use. The FS was compiled by M3 Engineering & Technology Corp. ("M3") which was engaged by Midas Gold, through its subsidiary Midas Gold Idaho Inc. ("MGII"), to evaluate the development of the Stibnite Gold Project based on information available up to the date of the FS. The FS was prepared under the direction of Independent Qualified Persons ("QPs") and in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI 43-101") standards for reporting mineral properties. Additional details of responsibilities are provided at the end of this news release and in the Report to be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of December 22, 2020. The FS supersedes and replaces the technical report entitled "Amended Preliminary Feasibility Study Technical Report for the Stibnite Gold Project, Idaho" prepared by M3 and dated March 28, 2019 and that report should no longer be relied upon. Mineral Resource Statements in the FS supersede and replace the Mineral Resources disclosed publicly on February 15, 2018, which should no longer be relied upon. The Stibnite Mining District is located in central Idaho, USA approximately 100 miles (mi) northeast of Boise, Idaho, 38 mi east of McCall, Idaho, and approximately 10 mi east of Yellow Pine, Idaho. The Project detailed in the FS consists of mining the Yellow Pine, Hangar Flats and West End deposits using conventional open pit methods, conventional processing methods to extract gold, silver and antimony, and on-site production of gold (Au) and silver (Ag) doré and an antimony (Sb) concentrate. The Project also incorporates extensive reclamation and restoration of historical impacts to the site including: the recovery and reprocessing of Historical Tailings, restoration of fish passage during and after operations, relocation of historical mining wastes to engineered storage facilities, stream restoration, and reforestation. Midas Gold's plans for restoration and decommissioning the site include progressive and concurrent remediation, reclamation and restoration, beginning at the start of construction and continuing through operations and Project closure. Mineralization and alteration in the District are associated with multiple hydrothermal alteration events occurring through the Paleocene and early Eocene epochs. Main-stage gold mineralization and associated potassic alteration typically occurs in structurally prepared zones in association with very fine grained disseminated arsenical pyrite and, to a lesser extent, arsenopyrite, with gold almost exclusively in solid solution in these minerals. Antimony mineralization occurs primarily associated with the mineral stibnite. Additional gold mineralization in the Stibnite roof pendant is associated with epithermal quartz-adularia-carbonate veins. The District has been the subject of exploration and production activities for nearly 100 years, yet much of the area remains poorly explored due to its remote location, low level of outcrop and extensive glacial cover in valley bottoms. Midas Gold has completed extensive exploration work over the last decade that has included: geophysics; rock, soil and stream sampling and analysis; geologic mapping; mineralogical and metallurgical studies; and drilling. This newer data has been integrated with datasets from previous operators and provides a comprehensive toolkit for future exploration. These efforts have led to the identification of over 75 prospects with varying levels of target support. The Mineral Resource estimates for the Project were estimated in conformity with generally accepted Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy ("CIM") "Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practices Guidelines" as adopted by CIM CouncilNovember 29, 2019 and are reported in accordance with NI43–101 requirements. The Mineral Resource estimates for each of the Hangar Flats, West End and Yellow Pine deposits, and the Historical Tailings, were prepared using commercial mine-modeling and geostatistical software, take into account relevant modifying factors, and have been verified by an Independent QP. The consolidated Mineral Resource statement for the Project in metric tonnes (t) based on a gold selling price of USD 1,250/troy ounce.
