North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Feb. 13 announced plans to invest C$83 million on high-value exploration and pre-development infrastructure improvements at its Back River gold mine project in Nunavut.

“2018 will be a significant year for the company as our work programs continue to advance Back River towards production as well as continue to focus on high value exploration targets at the Goose property,” said Sabina Gold President and CEO Bruce McLeod. “In addition, we have developed discretionary activities that are based on certain milestones achieved during the process. These expenditures will be assessed with a view to maintaining first gold in 2021 and are contingent on advancement of project funding initiatives.”

Sabina submitted an environmental impact statement for a 3,000-metric-ton-per-day mine at Back River project late in 2015. At the time, Nunavut Impact Review Board recommended to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada not to advance the project through permitting. After reviewing the recommendation, the federal regulators returned the project to NIRB for further consideration.

Answering a call for further information, Sabina provided the review board an addendum early in 2017, which led to the eventual issuance of a project certificate, advancing the gold mine project into the final regulatory and licensing phase.

In conjunction with the issuance of the project certificate, Zhaojin International Mining Co. agreed to purchase 24.93 million shares of Sabina at a price of C$2.65 per share for a total investment of roughly C$66.1 million. Zhaojin International now owns roughly 9.9 percent of Sabina’s issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis.

• With roughly C$94.5 million in the bank, Sabina has a number of targets it hopes to achieve in 2018:

• completion of the permitting process and receipt of both Type A and B water licenses;

• completion of detailed engineering required for development of the project execution plan;

• begin pre-development infrastructure activities, earthworks and construction of the marine laydown;

• procurement of key infrastructure and equipment; and

• completion of a targeted exploration program.

Despite the 13 months of permitting delays, Sabina said the additional discretionary project development activities could enable the Back River to achieve first gold production by the first quarter of 2021. These activities are contingent on additional funding and would include site earthworks and construction preparation at the proposed mine site.

Without completion of discretionary activities, first gold would be closer to the end of 2021, a roughly nine-month delay from the company’s original schedule.

In addition to predevelopment activities, Sabina will conduct a significant exploration drilling program along with mapping, sampling and geophysics at Back River. This work is designed to expand and optimize existing resources and advance and delineate exploration targets towards the discovery of new mineralization that has the potential to favorably impact project economics.

Camp will open in mid-February 2018 with drilling beginning in March.

Sabina plans to complete up to 25,000 meters of drilling this year – 6,000 meters during the spring program and 19,000 meters this summer. This year’s drilling will focus on following up on the significant 2017 results at Vault and Llama along with testing a number of other exploration targets at Back River.

–SHANE LASLEY