Intl Northair Mines Ltd INNHF

GoGold - received Parral mining permit in 2013 (smooth)

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GoGold (a TSX traded company) is a current (silver) producer near Parral, in the same district as Northair.  It seems like their mine permiting process went smoothly.  

Gogold`s operation is a bit different as they are reprocessing material from an old tailings dump.  They are not performing in ground mining.  The past environmental base line and impact study Gogold performed was likely similar to the one Northair will perfrom, but perhaps Northair`s technical study will have more depth to it due to actually having to perform in ground mining (as a typical mining operation).

Gogold`s tailings are actually located in the town of Parral, which would have created some challenges if they had processed the tailings directly in the town (ongoing dust and land use concerns).  They came up with a solution to transport the material from the town to a nearby selected site for treatment and final reclamation.  They ended up building a heap leap plant to process the old tailings material, away from the town.

They were granted their mining (environment) permit in August of 2013.  It`s not clear how long it took to be approved the mining permit (to enable construction) after all of the studies were submitted to the goverment for final approval.  It doesn`t seem like it was too lengthy.  I see an NR dated November 2012 where they discussed still working on the Environment Base Line & Impact Study.  They is one of the key studies that is required before final submission of permit application to the government.   

Based on this general time period, my guess is it likely took GoGold about 3 to 6 months to receive its mining permit - from time of submission of final independent studies (evironmental, technical, etc.) to actually receiving final permit.  It would also depend on how many questions and changes the government may have and how long it takes to implement the changes before resubmission of application.

And, keep in mind that the most lengthy parts of the permitting process is actually the time it takes to perform the independent studies (environmentals, technicals, etc.).

We can probably use GoGold`s experiences to assess the level of openness to mining in the general Parral district - a traditional mining district. 

It seems to still be a very positive environment for mining companies.

It`s also positive that San Francisco del Oro and Santa Barbara are still in production today (and will likely be for at least another decade or two in the future) - 20 to 25 km south of Northair`s currently defined 43-101 resources and only about 8 km from the southern edge of Northair`s property.  Of note, those two mines are owned by 2 giant Mexican companies (including Carlos Slim`s mining division - Carlos Slim is one of the wealthiest people in the world, who seems to be alternating with Bill Gates and Warren Buffet each year for the wealthiest person in the world status).  These two giant companies will likely come snooping around Northair`s property once its 43-101 resource becomes more sizeable. 

Additionally, Veta Colorada is owned by Silver Standard (a sizeable company in its own right).  I`m sure they will take a glance next door if things become large scale.

I wouldn`t rule out GoGold eventually taking a glance over at Northair`s developments, to at least see what`s happening (once Northair`s activities pick up).