GoWest All systems GO for 2021
By Kevin Vincent:
If there was a Nobel award for patience, you’d have to hand it to Greg Romain. The longtime president of Gowest Gold is now working to bring its 100%-owned Bradshaw Gold Deposit into production.
In late October 2020, the company got the green light from Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to proceed with production.
“We have just achieved two more critical milestones towards seeing the Bradshaw gold deposit as the newest gold mine in the Timmins camp,” Romain said at the time.
“We appreciate the patience and support of our many stakeholders and look forward to providing further detail as we move towards production.”
Gowest also refers to the prospective mining area as the North Timmins Gold Project or NTGP. In addition to its focus on exploration and evaluation of its Bradshaw gold deposit, which represents approximately 50-hectares, the company is exploring additional gold targets on the remainder of its land package. That package generally surrounds, or is contiguous with, the Frankfield property and includes exploration interests along the largely undeveloped Pipestone Fault area of the Timmins Gold Camp, including a contiguous block of claims extending approximately 18-kilometres along the Pipestone Fault from the Bradshaw gold deposit southeast towards the Clavos deposit.
The company is also evaluating the potential to increase its holdings in the vicinity of the Pipestone Fault, along with other acquisition opportunities. Gowest has two other properties known as the Tully and Whitney.
Gowest’s North Timmins Gold Project (NTGP) currently covers one patented mining claim, 11 mining leases and 56 unpatented mining claims over a total of 11,185 hectares in Evelyn, Gowan, Little, Prosser, Tully, and Wark Townships in the Timmins gold camp. This includes 26 unpatented mining claims (3,302 hectares) held under joint venture with Transition Metals Corp. The project is comprised of three main properties: Frankfield, Tully and Pipestone.
Mining Production Permit
Gowest received official notice October 28th from the Ontario’s Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines that the Company’s Mine Production Closure Plan has received final review and filing in accordance with the Ontario Mining Act.
Gowest has now received all environmental permits required to bring the mine into commercial production.
Ore-Sorter Commissioned and First Processing Scheduled
Gowest’s ore-sorter has also been commissioned in preparation for sorting the mixed development ore currently stockpiled on surface. This material will be trucked to Northern Sun’s nearby Redstone Mill.
Gowest has been exploring the Frankfield Property since 1983.
A number of diamond drilling campaigns have been carried out on the property and semi-continuous diamond drilling has been carried out since 2004.
Following a reorganization and change of the company’s management team, Gowest has more than doubled the size of the original mineralized land package at the Bradshaw Gold Deposit (formerly known as Frankfield East) since 2010 when it contained an inferred mineral resource of 510,000 ounces of gold.
In mid-2011, Gowest contracted a HELITEM electromagnetic and magnetic airborne geophysical survey covering what was then – before Gowest added more land to the project area – to map the geology and structure of the area.
In June, 2015 Gowest announced the results of a Pre-Feasibility Study completed for the Bradshaw deposit, part of the larger North Timmins Gold Project (NTGP). In preparing to reach this critical milestone, Gowest raised sufficient capital to enable the company to significantly advance Bradshaw by expanding the historical resource by drilling and analysis in excess of 65,000 meters, developing a detailed mine plan, and completing the work required to obtain the various mining permits.
The PFS was conducted by Stantec Mining. The PFS was focused on mining the upper 500 vertical meters. Previous drilling has intercepted mineralization at a vertical depth of 1,350m, indicating the deposit remains open for additional development.
On December 10th, the company announced the first Bradshaw Gold ore being processed.
“Following on our recent receipt of our mining production permit for Bradshaw as well as commissioning of the ore-sorter and other operational advances at the site, this start of milling at Redstone represents another critical milestone towards seeing the Bradshaw gold deposit as the newest gold mine in the Timmins camp,” Greg Romain, Gowest President, said.
Gowest is reporting that Northern Sun’s Redstone Mill began processing the first gold-bearing mixed development ore from Bradshaw on December 1, 2020. As previously reported, this material is part of the gold-bearing mixed development ore that had been collected and stockpiled on-site from the company’s ongoing Advanced Exploration Bulk Sample program.
Gowest Gold Ltd. is pleased to provide a further update on its progress towards bringing the Company’s 100% owned Bradshaw Gold Deposit into production.
Financing Discussions
The company also notes that it is working with interested parties and reviewing both short- and long-term financing opportunities required to raise sufficient funds to complete the bulk sample and advance Bradshaw towards commercial production, targeted for 2021.
In addition to everything else, the company conducted extensive consultations with Indigenous Communities, the City of Timmins, and government officials related to its planned operations and the closure plan. Based on the input from various groups, Gowest completed the final revisions to the closure plan, which provides details for how the mine will be operated and closed, and how the site will eventually be reclaimed once mining activities are completed.
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Tags: Northern Ontario / Operational Updates / Gold / All Articles