Reviewed by Lexie CornerSep 12 2024
North Bay Resources Inc. has announced that the Operating Plan for the company’s Mt. Vernon Gold Mine is now complete and ready for filing and approval with Federal Mine Regulators (MSHA) to begin production.
Oblique View of High-Grade Gold Shell. Image Credit: North Bay Resources Inc.
Detailed 3D modeling, mineral extraction, surface operations, and safety and logistical planning are nearly complete. Modern mine infrastructure, including mining equipment and consumables, is presently on-site. The initial mining phase will involve blasting, loading, sorting, and shipping 500 tons from the deposit center.
This zone has consistently yielded gold grades exceeding one ounce per ton, with some areas producing up to 4.8 ounces per ton over a span of 150 feet. The material extracted from this zone will be used to optimize mining, milling, and metallurgical processes, as well as to produce gold bars and platinum buttons for sale.
Previous gravity separation and extraction tests for gold, platinum, and silver have shown that the ore from the Mt. Vernon Mine is highly amenable to simple crushing and gravity table recovery. This makes it well-suited for processing at the Company's 100-ton-per-day Bishop Gold Mill in Inyo County.
The Mt. Vernon Mine is a relatively underdeveloped deposit. Sampling by qualified mining engineers has revealed gold concentrations of over 1 ounce per ton, with some areas reaching up to 4.8 ounces per ton over a 150-foot distance. The current access tunnel intersects the known 200-foot-wide gold-bearing zone and runs perpendicular to the channel, which spans up to 500 feet in width and extends over 2,000 feet across the property.
The channel’s thickness varies between 4 and 20 feet, with the highest gold grades typically found in the lowest four feet. This channel was previously mined at the nearby Ruby Mine, which is historically North America's richest mine. Mt. Vernon is an operational underground mine with a modern portal, tunnel, ventilation, power, and equipment, and the ore body is estimated at 954,000 tons based on the known channel.