Liberty Gold advances Black Pine project permitting

Liberty Gold (TSX: LGD) announced on Tuesday the advancement of the permitting process for its Black Pine oxide gold project in southeast Idaho.

The company said that recent cooperation with the US Forest Service (USFS) has led to the completion of a memorandum of understanding and a cost recovery agreement. In addition, the USFS and the Bureau of Land Management have approved a third-party contractor to conduct the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, an essential step in advancing the project.

Black Pine, a past-producing open-pit heap leach mine, operated from 1991 to 1997. During that period, then owner Pegasus Gold produced 435,000 oz. of gold and 189,000 oz. of silver from five open pits.

Once operational, Liberty aims to produce over 2 million oz. of gold from Black Pine across a projected 17-year mine life. In the first five years, the company expects average annual production to reach 183,000 oz.

The project hosts an indicated mineral resource of 4.16 million oz. in oxide gold, averaging 0.32 g/t across 402.6 million tonnes, and an inferred mineral resource of 712,000 oz. at 0.23 g/t over 97.7 million tonnes.

Liberty Gold’s stock was trading up 3% Tuesday morning. The company has a C$129 million ($93 million) market capitalization.