MINING NEWS: Galore Creek production plan doubles

The planned throughput for Vancouver-based NovaGold’s Galore Creek project in Northwestern British Columbia has doubled to 65,000 tonnes per day, according to a pre-feasibility study published in October. The mine would still have a more than 20-year life. Annual production in the first six years would average over 300,000 ounces of gold, 2.31 million ounces of silver and 370 million pounds of copper.

The study, which was prepared by independent engineering services company Hatch Ltd., estimates that after-tax annual cash flow would total more than $200 million using long-term average metal prices and over $350 million at current metal prices for the first six years. The open pit mine would have the potential to recover a total of at least 5.9 billion pounds of copper, 3.7 million ounces of gold and 40 million ounces of silver.

“We are extremely pleased with the solid economics from the Hatch study based on the comprehensive and rigorous efforts at Galore Creek — we have made tremendous progress in just two years since acquiring the project,” said Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, NovaGold’s president and CEO.

NovaGold’s timeline for Galore Creek is to submit permit applications in the first quarter of 2006, complete the final feasibility study in the third quarter, obtain key construction permits in early 2007, start construction in mid-2007 and start commercial production in 2010-11.

—Sarah Hurst