Jul 9 2015
IDM Mining Ltd. is pleased to announce that the Company continues to advance permitting of a proposed 1,000 tonne per day underground gold mine at the Red Mountain Underground Gold Project, located 15 km northeast of Stewart BC and has commenced its 2015 Field Program.
"IDM's focus for 2015 is to advance the necessary environmental baseline work, permitting and engineering of the Red Mountain Project to facilitate full regulatory approvals, and support a potential positive investment decision in 2016," said Rob McLeod, President and CEO. "We look forward to continuing to build a positive working relationship with the Nisga'a Nation, local community members, our partner consultants and regulatory agencies, in realizing the potential of developing our high-grade gold deposit into an underground bulk-tonnage mine."
"The robust economics for a potential five year mine life outlined in our Preliminary Economic Assessment is augmented by significant exploration upside on the Property, particularly along strike and down-dip from the current resource and within the parallel striking 141 Zone," said Michael McPhie, Executive Chairman of IDM Mining. "Our priorities remain focused on achieving development permits in a timely manner, ensuring the company has a social license to operate, with subsequent resource expansion drilling programs that may significantly extend the potential mine life within the prolific Red Mountain Property."
2015 PROGRAM
Since the agreement to acquire the Red Mountain Property was announced in April 2014, the Company has continued to advance the project towards development as a potential high-value underground gold mine. Work slated for the summer and fall of 2015 includes:
- Environmental baseline work, including: surface and groundwater sampling and analysis, geo-hazard assessment, wildlife and fisheries studies and archaeological assessments;
- Socioeconomic studies, First Nation and community engagement;
- Road and power-line right-of-way surveying and engineering; and,
- Metallurgical and tailings management optimization studies.
In July 2014, the Company announced positive results from a NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and revised Resource Estimate completed by JDS Energy & Mining Ltd. (see IDM news release dated July 23, 2014). The study demonstrates potential robust economics for a high-grade underground mine, with low capital ($76 million) and operating costs ($456/ounce net of silver by-product) and a post-tax payback period of 1.5 years. The recent decline in the Canadian dollar would potentially result in even better economics, with the PEA base-case foreign exchange at $0.95 CAD:USD.
Commencing in the spring of 2014, IDM initiated environmental baseline work, additional Project engineering, as well as First Nation and stakeholder engagement. In the fall of 2014, the Company submitted a draft Project Description (the "Project Description") to the British Columbia Environment Assessment Office ("BC EAO") for the Project. Comments have been received on the Project Description from BC EAO, other provincial and federal agencies and First Nations. The Company intends to submit a final Project Description shortly to formally initiate the environmental assessment review of the Project.
Finally, management continues to advance discussions with a number of banking and mining finance firms in preparation for securing the debt and equity capital required to support the potential development of Red Mountain in 2016.