With gold bouncing above a six-year high of US$1,600 per ounce and holding steady so far through the COVID-19 crisis, greater attention is now placed on two gold-mining plays in northern B.C.
One was envisioned in 2012 and approved two years ago but has yet to start; the second has received government and First Nations support and is also waiting for the mine owner to start construction.
The Blackwater gold mine, owned by New Gold Inc., will be an open-pit gold and silver mine on 4,400 hectares about 110 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof.
New Gold expects the mine to operate for 17 years, and total mineral tax revenue over that time is currently estimated at $722 million.
In 2019, the mine was issued federal and provincial environmental assessment certificates but it must still go through the mine-permitting phase. When it will enter that process remains unknown, New Gold community relations adviser Val Erickson said in an email to the Prince George Citizen.
For the rest of this article: https://biv.com/article/2020/03/two-northern-bc-gold-mines-poised-start-digging