Site visit: Revival Gold closes in on prefeasibility for historic Beartrack-Arnett project in Idaho

When Revival Gold (TSXV: RVG) was founded in 2017 around a property consolidation of the Beartrack-Arnett gold project — a land position that was originally held by the first governor of the state of Idaho in the late 1800s — the vision was to revive what was the nearby town of Salmon’s first modern mine.

The town thrived when the mine was in operation from 1994 until 2000, producing 600,000 oz. gold and achieving a life of mine recovery of 88%. Operated by Yamana Gold subsidiary Meridian Beartrack, the mine was shut down when the gold price dropped below US$300 an ounce.

Today, the 58-sq.-km Beartrack-Arnett property in Lemhi county includes both Revival Gold’s 100%-owned Arnett gold project and the neighbouring Beartrack mine, in which it has the right to earn a 100% interest from Yamana.

Beartrack-Arnett currently ranks as one of the highest grade and largest independently owned undeveloped open pit gold projects in the United States, the company says, and Idaho is one of the most mining-friendly states.

With the goal to revive what is considered the largest past-producing gold mine in the state and put the Arnett project into production, Revival Gold CEO Hugh Agro, a former executive VP at Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC), started by knocking on the doors of the region’s most seasoned and savvy miners.

Geological engineer and former site manager Pete Blakely is back as general manager, geologist Steve Priesmyer is serving as VP exploration and John Meyer joined as VP, engineering and development.

Permitting is being overseen by hard rock mining policy expert Opal Adams. When the environmental impact statement was sent out for public comment, only three came back negative, and a resolution was reached on all three. The company notes there were no comments or objections from the local Native American tribe, the Nez Perce, and despite the town’s eponym, salmon are two drainage basins away.

The mine could add US$1.2 billion to the state’s GDP.

Agro points to the project’s permitting position and Idaho’s deep socio-economic roots as mining country put it in a strong position. “We can permit in Idaho,” he says.

The road from Salmon to the Beartrack-Arnett site is a smooth 40-minute ride on a wide corridor, up into scenic country where herds of cattle graze and the original placer mining town’s log cabins still stand, dating back to the 1860s.

At the site, most of the mine’s infrastructure is still operational, run on low cost carbon friendly grid power, and permits are in place for the processing facility.  

Engineering work has begun on a preliminary feasibility study for the potential restart of heap leach operations and the company aims to release it mid-2023.

A preliminary economic assessment, released in late 2020, outlines production of 72,000 oz. of gold per year at all-in sustaining costs of US$1,057 per oz. for the initial seven years of mine life at the brownfield site.

Two drills were turning during the summer drill campaign, and intersected 3.49 grams gold per tonne over 115.4 metres, including 10.12 grams gold over 11.4 metres, at the Joss high-grade target area. This was 150 metres deeper last year’s program, which returned 4.34 grams gold over 110.6 metres and 8.8 grams gold over 11.8 metres.

Meanwhile, exploration by Revival Gold continues to focus on expanding the 2022 mineral resource of 65 million indicated tonnes at 1.01 grams gold for 2.1 million oz. of contained gold and 46.2 million inferred tonnes at 1.31 grams gold for 1.9 million oz.

“We’ve hit another long intercept of high-grade at Joss,” Agro says, “The Joss zone currently extends for more than one kilometre in strike and over an average vertical extent of about 500 metres with the average true width of the mineralized zone estimated to be 10-30 metres thick.”

Further results from Joss are expected before year-end.