Osisko’s Caribou gold mine is providing ore to Nicola’s Merrit, B.C., mill. Osisko Development photo
Nicola Mining (TSXV: NIM) is completing final preparations to commence gold mill near Merritt, BC, by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Nicola announced on Jan. 9 that it had signed a mining and milling profit share agreement with Osisko Development (TSXV: ODV; NYSE: ODV). Under the agreement, Osisko may transport material to Nicola’s mill site. It is the only facility in the province permitted to accept third party gold and silver mill feed from throughout the province.
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Currently, the company has received more than 16,000 tonnes of gold ore from the Cariboo gold project. The company has also hired employees to fill key positions required for gold production.
Nicola expects to receive results from its 2022 soil sampling program at its wholly owned New Craigmont copper property 14 km from Merritt and is preparing for an extensive exploration program in 2023.
Soil results will be published upon receipt, along with results from its district-wide airborne geophysical Z-axis tipper electromagnetic (ZTEM) survey to finalize drill hole locations. The ZTEM survey included inversion modelling carried out across the New Craigmont property has imaged the electrical conductivity signature of various mineral occurrences.
On Jan. 3, Osisko shared results from a feasibility study done on Cariboo that indicated 163,695 oz. average annual gold production over a 12-year mine life, bulk tonnage and initial probable mineral reserves of 2 million oz. of gold (16.7 million tonnes at 3.78 g/t), an after-tax net present value at 5% discount of C$502 million, and a 20.7% internal rate of return.
“We are very excited to re-commence gold production and to utilize operational cash flow towards funding exploration on New Craigmont, which we consider to be our flagship asset. The 2023 exploration program will extend to known, but never-before-drilled, locations on the property,” said Peter Espig, CEO of Nicola.
