Sixty North Gold is set to revitalize its mining operations at the Mon Gold Mine, situated 45 km north of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The company is gearing up to replace the camp trailers that were lost to a wildfire last year by installing a new temporary camp. This strategic move aligns with their plans to resume mining in the A-Zone, a sector of their fully-owned, historically productive site.
To accommodate more substantial mining equipment, Sixty North Gold has previously expanded the North Ramp to dimensions of three by four meters, and advanced it by 132 meters. This modification brings it within a mere 60 meters of the initial targeted mining area. Notably, the planned initial stope is situated 20 meters beneath the historic stopes, which had previously yielded 15,000 tonnes of ore with a notable grade of 30 grams per ton from a folded quartz vein. Both recent and historical drilling efforts indicate that the vein extends to the planned depth and beyond, maintaining comparable widths and grades to those previously extracted.
The mining crew anticipates reaching the initial mining level within four weeks. Following this, they will begin driving crosscuts into the vein, setting the stage for the commencement of vein mining. An integral part of their strategy includes the extraction and assay of a bulk sample from these early stope operations, ensuring precise evaluations of the mine’s potential.
Armed with the necessary permits for mining and milling at this location, Sixty North Gold draws parallels between the A-Zone and the historically lucrative Discovery Mine, which is positioned 45 km to the north. The Discovery Mine famously produced one million ounces of gold from approximately one million tons of ore sourced from a similarly scaled vein.
Dr. Dave Webb, CEO of Sixty North Gold, expressed optimism about the mine’s prospects, particularly in light of the recent surge in gold prices. "We are well-positioned to capitalize on these record high gold prices with our potential for early gold production," he stated. The company is focused on achieving two critical milestones: completing the underground development with bulk sampling of the vein, followed by the installation and commissioning of the mill circuit.
Highlighting the current market dynamics, Dr. Webb mentioned, "There is a disconnect between gold prices and the share prices of gold explorers and miners. We are confident that by advancing our development plan and initiating gold production, we can effectively monetize our assets, providing substantial benefits to our shareholders regardless of market conditions."
Moreover, the property is not just limited to gold; it also hosts an outcropping precious-metals rich VMS showing and features four modeled geophysical targets within felsic tuffs, lithic, and lapilli tuffs, which are slated for drilling when conditions permit. Through the integration of modern technology, Sixty North Gold aims to breathe new life into the historically prolific Yellowknife Gold Camp, which has produced approximately 15 million ounces of gold over 60 years.
