Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Sabina to permit, optimize, explore Back River in 2016

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Feb. 3 posted a budget of up to C$11 million for a 2016 work program at its Back River gold project in western Nunavut. The company said its base budget for 2016 is C$7 million with an additional discretionary spending budget of up to $4 million which will be fully funded from the existing treasury. The base budget includes funding of activities to advance Back River through completion of the environmental assessment phase as well as utilizing roughly C$2.2 million of flow-through funds raised in 2015 to test high-value, near-surface targets with spring and summer drilling and field programs. Sabina said it developed this flexible budget to preserve its treasury, which included about C$18.4 million in cash at the end of 2015, while advancing Back River in the prevailing market conditions. Sabina said it 2016 program will continue to focus on optimizing Back River to take advantage of the current industry conditions, namely: strong gold price in Canadian dollars; low energy prices; opportunities to substitute Canadian suppliers to take advantage of the impact of a weak Canadian dollar; and the accessibility of used equipment. Sabina President and CEO Bruce McLeod said, “Our work in 2016 will enable us to deliver significant catalysts for the Back River project. With a strong Canadian dollar gold price (C$1,580 per ounce of gold versus US$1,380/oz. used in the feasibility study) and weak oil price, we have been presented with a unique opportunity for optimization of our project.” In November, Sabina submitted the final environmental impact statement on Back River to the Nunavut Impact Review Board. A project recommendation from NIRB to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada could be received in the second half of 2016, a significant milestone in the permitting process. Sabina said it will develop comprehensive project execution plan that lays out a modular approach to detailed design, procurement and construction of the Back River, which can be initiated after permitting. The 2016 exploration program at Back River is scheduled to start in mid-March with an initial 2,500-meter drill program that will test the subsurface size, continuity and shape of near-surface mineralization at Kogoyok, a prospect discovered in 2015 on the Goose property of the Back River project. Highlighted rock samples from Kogoyok include 33.86 grams per metric ton gold, 28.10 g/t gold and 18.23 g/t gold. These outcrop grab samples occur near the convergence of an untested segment of iron formation stratigraphy with gold-bearing felsic intrusions. The company also plans to drill Hivogani and Convergence, two high-priority target areas with the potential to deliver near-surface gold mineralization. The winter drilling program will be followed by a summer program focused on geological mapping, till sampling, and prospecting programs to advance target areas at the Goose, George, and Boulder properties.

- Shane Lasley