Maritime closing in on feasibility for Hammerdown gold project

Maritime Resources (TSXV: MAE) has provided an update on its 100%-owned Hammerdown gold project, which it is advancing towards the feasibility stage, after finalizing the project design and obtaining most of the pricing information for key project components.

The project, located in the Baie Verte mining district of Newfoundland and Labrador, is designed as both an open pit and underground mining operation, with pre-concentration of the mineralized material through a sorting plant and haulage to an offsite mill for gold doré production. The mine will be contractor operated, with Maritime providing technical oversight plus management of the sorting and process plant at its Nugget Pond mill gold circuit operations. The sorting plant is designed to produce 700 t/d of product feed that would be processed at Nugget Pond. A mine life of nine years is expected.

Maritime says the project designs are now complete for the mine production schedule, grade control drilling program, crushing and sorting plant, Nugget Pond gold circuit refurbishment, earthworks and associated project infrastructure. Requests have been sent out for pricing on all major equipment, consumables and contract services for the project.

The crushing and sorting plant site has been cleared at Hammerdown. Credit: Maritime Resources

An average 95.9% gold recovery was achieved on representative samples taken from the Hammerdown deposit. The metallurgical test work program on representative bulk and variability samples from both the Hammerdown and Orion deposits achieved 95.9% and 90.3% gold recovery respectively.

A targeted life-of-mine waste rejection rate of 40% on Hammerdown and 15% on the Orion deposits were achieved, with 95% gold recovery in the completed sorting test work.

Mechanical inspections were completed at the Nugget Pond gold circuit, evaluating the scope of refurbishment for existing equipment and design of the grinding circuit. Additionally, condemnation drilling was completed over the areas of the planned waste dump, stockpiles and the crushing/sorting plant site, with assays pending.

The company is now expecting the feasibility study to be completed in mid-2022, and final permitting towards a construction decision later in the year.

“The feasibility study is advancing well despite the challenges faced across the mining industry with high inflationary pressures and supply chain constraints,” president and CEO Garett Macdonald commented. “The advantage with Hammerdown in this market is that, as a brownfields project, we have extensive infrastructure already in place, including an existing gold circuit at the Nugget Pond mill facility. Our designs for the project have leveraged the site’s unique location with existing road access and hydro power less than one kilometre away. “

Located near the towns of King’s Point and Springdale, Hammerdown is part of the Maritime Resources’ 98-sq.km. Green Bay property that includes the former Hammerdown gold mine and the Orion gold project, plus the Whisker Valley exploration project.

The Hammerdown and Orion gold deposits with a combined pit-constrained measured and indicated resource of 1.7 million tonnes grading 6.65 grams gold per tonne (368,000 contained oz.) and interred resource of 1.3 million tonnes grading 4.77 grams gold (206,200 oz.). The underground resources are 1.2 million tonnes grading 4.13 grams gold (153,000 oz.) in measured and indicated, and 1.9 million tonnes grading 4.29 grams gold (260,000 oz.) inferred.