International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Feb. 1 said it has paid the U$14.7 million payment due on certain claims associated with its Livengood gold project in Interior Alaska.

Following the completion of the land payment, Tower Hill had US$7.5 million in cash, most of which the company will use to carry out a US$6.3 million work program focused largely on improving the economics of developing a mine at Livengood.

In September, Tower Hill released results of an initial phase of optimization work in a pre-feasibility study for Livengood, which is about 70 road miles northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska.

The mine contemplated in the PFS involves a 52,600-metric-ton-per-day mill (about half the size envisioned in a feasibility study released in 2013) that would produce 6.8 million ounces of gold over a 23-year mine life, or roughly 294,100 oz annually.

This year's work program will focus on improving the mineralization and alteration models used to support the resource block model, evaluating alternative block models for production schedule opportunities, and completion of several phases of metallurgical work to better define and optimize the flowsheet and recovery parameters.

The 2017 program has been designed to target those aspects that could deliver the highest increase to the project's net present value for the least expenditure.

Work is also planned to advance the environmental baseline efforts needed to support future permitting.

Karl Hanneman, who was previously Tower Hill's chief operating officer, has been approved by the company's board of directors to take over the role as CEO. "The board has unanimously backed Karl to be the new leader of the company and think that he is the best candidate to lead this team as ITH embarks on a work program to continue de-risking the project down an eventual permitting path," said Tower Hill Chairman Marcelo Kim.

Hanneman, who has more than 35 years of Alaska-based mining industry experience, is well known and respected mining engineer in the state.

Prior to joining Tower Hill, he played a key role on the team at Teck that successfully resolved significant permitting issues at the Red Dog zinc mine in Northwest Alaska.

As Alaska Regional Manager for Teck, Hanneman also played a key role in the exploration, development and permitting of the Pogo gold mine in Interior Alaska.

Hanneman has led or participated in a number of industry and State of Alaska sponsored organizations, including the Alaska Minerals Commission, Council of Alaska Producers, Resource Development Council, and the Alaska Miners Association.

Tom Irwin, the previous CEO, is transitioning into a part-time position as senior advisor prior to his standing for election to the board at the company's annual general meeting in May. "The fundamentals of the project are compelling: one of the largest gold resources in North America that is not owned by a major, an accessible location in a stable jurisdiction, and a project that is highly leveraged to the gold price," said Hanneman.

"Tom's leadership has helped build a strong foundation for progress and I am pleased to have been asked to lead the team on the continued development of this exciting investment opportunity."

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