May 15 2019
Novo Resources Corp. (“Novo” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that environmental approvals for mining the Beatons Creek conglomerate gold project (the “Project”) located in the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia have been granted.
Additionally, the final mining lease required to complete the Project, M46/532, has now been granted. All necessary tenure and Native Title agreements are now in place.
Highlights
- Granting of the mining lease for tenement M46/532 (known as the Edwards Lease) is important to Novo as it contains some of the highest grade material and covers some of the planned waste dump footprint. It also means that just under 99% of all ounces recently reported in the Beatons Creek resources upgrade (see the Company’s news release dated April 1, 2019 - http://novoresources.com/news-media/news/display/index.php?content_id=346) are now contained within granted mining leases.
- All necessary Native Title agreements and tenure are now in place for the entire Project resource estimate (oxide & fresh mineralisation).
- Novo’s previously announced options study (please see the Company’s news release dated April 17, 2019 - http://novoresources.com/news-media/news/display/index.php?content_id=347) continues to consider a processing route for the Project, now underpinned by the certainty of a significant source of oxide mill feed.
- These approvals apply to the Project’s oxide resource. All necessary environmental test-work for the Project oxide tailings product (carried out to the standards required by the relevant environmental regulatory agencies) has been completed, confirming an environmentally benign tailings product.
- Work will now commence for an approvals submission for the Project’s fresh resource.
The granting of Mining Leases and mining approvals are a rigorous assessment process undertaken by the Western Australian Departments of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety and Water and Environmental Regulation and require comprehensive technical input including:
- Environmental studies (ecological, hydrogeological and social environmental impacts, mineralization and waste chemical composition)
- Mining plans – mine closure planning, mining techniques, waste dump design and location, safety management plans
- Native Title – demonstration that a mining agreement is in place with all Native Title parties that considers royalties, employment opportunities, community engagement and cultural awareness
“The granting of mining tenure and approvals are a testament to the hard work and expertise within the Novo technical team, particularly given the challenges of seeking approvals for operating proximal to a residential area and within a P1 water reserve”, commented Mr. Rob Humphryson, CEO and a director of the Company. “These are very welcome developments and complementary to the east Pilbara options study which is now well underway. The centrepiece of this study is an assessment of the productive mining capacity of Beatons Creek based upon our improved understanding of resource block dimensions, which will in turn inform processing plant sizing and costing.”
Karratha Gold Project Mineralization Report
The Company is also pleased to announce that that the mineralization report previously announced on January 22, 2019 (please see the Company’s news release here: http://novoresources.com/news-media/news/display/index.php?content_id=340) is complete and undergoing final internal reviews. Details will be made available to the market upon completion of review.
Dr. Quinton Hennigh (P.Geo.) is the qualified person pursuant to NI 43-101 responsible for, and having reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is President, Chairman, and a director of Novo Resources Corp.