The CEO of Terra Gold says the recent discovery of a new near-surface gold deposit at Con Mine could be a positive sign for both the mine itself and for gold mining in the Northwest Territories more generally.
On March 15, Terra Gold announced that one of its drill holes had intersected with a deposit of gold on the Con Mine property 30 metres below the surface. The deposit that was discovered contains 3.61 grams of gold per tonne across 4.55 metres; One section in particular contains 15.75 grams per tonne across 0.75 metres.
The Con Mine property was recently optioned to Terra Gold for four years by Newmont.
During the team’s exploration, CEO Gerald Panneton says the team connected with an extension of the Con shear. He said the discovery is a good indication that the rich Con shear is still ripe for extraction: “Even if it’s low grade at 3.6 grams over 4.6 meters, the width is good. The grade could be better, because the original mine grade of the Con shear was 20 grams [per tonne], So it’s a very rich deposit,” he said.
“It could become another deposit near surface, which could be extremely good for our company and for the future of opening a mine again in Yellowknife.”
“If we find 2 million ounces, at 10 grams [per tonne] on the Con mine, we do have what’s necessary to redevelop a new operation in Yellowknife.”
Panneton says the discovery is a good sign for extraction on the Con Mine property, which was never fully exploited because of the declining price of gold. At the end of 2003 — the last year Con Mine was operational — the price of gold stood at about $537 per ounce.
As of Thursday, March 17, that number was $2,454.26, having previously spiked to $2,543.68 on March 9 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Despite the discovery, Panneton says it could be as long as five years before the mine is up and running again, but that that day could come in as few as three years.
Con Mine isn’t the only site starting up operation again: After the site lay dormant for 25 years, Sixty North began extraction at Mon mine last summer, and will continue extraction and begin processing later this year.
Panneton said it’s difficult to predict a mine’s longevity.
“Our goal is to find 2 million ounces this year. And if we find 2 million ounces this year, or within the next two years, well, we’ll have a project to be developed.”