Mining News: Northern Neighbors

Kaminak Gold Corp. Jan. 13 reported that results from recent infill drilling at the Latte deposit generally confirm the location, geometry, continuity and grade of the mineralization interpreted within the existing resource model. Latte contributes roughly 21 percent of the recoverable gold at Kaminak’s Coffee project in the White Gold district of central Yukon Territory. Kaminak drilled 5,200 meters (43 holes) at Latte in 2014 with the objective of verifying and upgrading the open-pit resource outlined in a 2014 preliminary economic assessment from largely inferred to the indicated category. Drilling and related field programs ended during the last week of November and will resume in February. The 2015 program will include infill, condemnation, geotechnical and hydrological drilling; environmental and heritage baseline studies; and access route design studies. A feasibility study for the Coffee Gold project is expected to be completed in late 2015 or early 2016.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Jan. 12 reported plans to file a final environmental impact statement for the Back River gold project to the Nunavut Impact Review Board by mid-2015. Back River encompasses a series of gold deposits in banded iron formations, situated in southwestern Nunavut roughly 520 kilometers (325 miles) northeast of Yellowknife, NWT. Final hearings on the project are expected to occur in late fall of 2015, with a recommendation from the Review Board to follow. An ongoing feasibility study for Back River is expected to be completed during the first half of 2015. Currently, Sabina is planning the details of a brief winter program at Back River that is expected to include geotechnical drilling at Goose, one of two primary properties that make up the larger Back River project, and environmental baseline work in support of the final environmental impact statement. Sabina ended 2014 with an estimated C$30 million in cash.

- Shane Lasley