Solid News Release ! GOWEST GOLD: ADVANCING FINAL STEPS TOWARDS PROCESSING AND PRODUCTION
TORONTO, ONTARIO - (September 16, 2020) Gowest Gold Ltd. (“Gowest” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE: GWA) is pleased to provide an update on its progress towards bringing the Company’s 100% owned Bradshaw Gold Deposit (“Bradshaw”) into production.
Greg Romain, Gowest President, said, “We are more confident than ever that we are on the verge of seeing the Bradshaw gold deposit as a new gold mine in the Timmins camp within the coming year. I am pleased to provide an update on critical milestones, and look forward to providing our loyal shareholders with regular updates in the coming weeks and months.”
Commercial Production Permit
Gowest has received all environmental permits required to bring the mine into commercial production, with the exception of the Mine Production Closure Plan (“the Closure Plan”), which has now been submitted to Ontario’s Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (“ENDM”) for final review and filing. According to the Ontario Mining Act, the ENDM has 45-days from September 14, 2020, the date of receipt of the plan, for final review and filing.
This represents the final step towards receiving the Commercial Mine Production permit for Bradshaw. Working with its professional environmental partners, Golder Associates and Blue Heron Environmental, the Company has 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 these various groups, Gowest recently 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.
Site Operations
Gowest is commencing the start-up of the ore-sorter in preparation for sorting the mixed development ore currently stockpiled on surface,which will be trucked to Northern Sun’s Redstone Mill for processing. The Redstone Mill operators have advised that they are finalizing the necessary upgrades and that the circuit will be ready to receive the Bradshaw material in a few weeks.
As previously reported, approximately 28,000 tonnes of gold-bearing mixed development ore has been collected and stockpiled on-site from the Company’s ongoing Advanced Exploration Bulk Sample program.The Company also plans to mine approximately 15,000 tonnes of stope ore as part of the bulk sample.
The Company also notes that the vent raise permitting is complete, and construction required for production mining is well underway.
Financing Update
As previously reported, the Company still requires additional funding to meet its operational objectives. Gowest is working with interested parties to complete one or more financings, which are needed to take Bradshaw into production. The submission of the Closure Plan and receipt of the Commercial Production Permit are critical milestones for such financings.