It’s “way too early to say” if Con Mine will ever be mined again, but Gold Terra has created that possibility.
A new deal with Newmont Corporation gives Gold Terra the option to purchase “100 per cent” of Con Mine, including its associated mineral leases and surface rights, Crown mineral claims, infrastructure and surrounding area.
“We’re not necessarily planning to go back,” Gold Terra executive chairperson Gerald Panneton told Yellowknifer. “It’s a big question, you have to realize that our goal is to find enough ounces to sustain and start a mine in Yellowknife. How much of the Con Mine infrastructure are we going to use? I have no clue yet. For example, maybe the mill’s not even going to be there. We’ll see.”
Read more: Gold Terra drilling south and east of Yellowknife
Read more: Gold Terra hits high-grade seam near Yellowknife
In the meantime, Panneton and Gold Terra as a whole is focusing on the task at hand. Drilling for 2 million ounces, “hen go to the next thing, which is look at all the options,” said Panneton. “It’s a big undertaking, but this option is great.”
The agreement will immediately replace the exploration agreement in place, dated Sept. 4, 2020 and will allow Gold Terra to fully explore the Campbell Shear structure at the Con Mine (and south of it).
“(It’s) a significant step for Gold Terra to increase our resource base with high-grade ounces along the prolific Campbell Shear structure and to add to our current inferred mineral resource, which currently stands at 1.21 million ounces,” Panneton said in a press release. “The additional land package along the Campbell Shear, and all the surface access assets and associated infrastructure will allow Gold Terra to accelerate its exploration strategy with the aim of adding a target of 2 million ounces of high-grade resource base to sustain the development of the project in the future.”
Gold Terra has spent approx. $3 million in exploration at the site so far.