Creso Exploration Inc. (
TSX: V.CXT) announced an agreement with Nichromet Extraction Inc. to develop the Minto gold deposit using patented environmentally friendly extraction processes.
Nichromet is a private Canadian company controlled by Dundee Corp. (
TSX: T.DC.A) that has developed patented precious and base metal extraction processes that are environmentally friendly in that the residues of mining operations are totally void of contaminants such as sulfur and arsenic.
According to the
Creso Exploration press release, the project is part of a 24 million dollar demonstration plant financed by Nichromet and supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a not-for-profit foundation that finances and supports the development and demonstration of clean technologies, who in February of 2013, committed $5.0 million in support of Nichromet's gold refining process.
The project, located within the Shining Tree district of northeastern Ontario, will use an open pit mining method to extract a 30,000 tonne bulk sample, at a projected rate of 1,200 tonnes per day.
Crushing and stockpiling for processing will be done onsite. All cost incurred beyond the stockpiling will be incurred by Nichromet. The modular processing plant, to be built by Nichromet and at its cost, will include grinding and flotation and is planned to operate at a rate of 300 tonnes per day. The concentrate product will be transported to Nichromet's demonstration plant in Thetford Mines, and 100% of the gold recovered will be returned to Creso.
Operations are scheduled to begin in April of 2014, once the permitting process is completed, and are anticipated to last for approximately eight months, during which time, site will be prepared, concentrator will be built and the bulk sample will be mined and processed.
Creso’s principal mining exploration holdings are located in the Shining Tree mining camp of Northern Ontario within 100 kilometres of the Timmins and Kirkland Lake mining camps.
On Monday, Creso rose 16.7% and was trading at $0.035 a share. The company had a market cap of $5.1 million, based on 144.8 million shares outstanding.