Maritime Resources (TSXV: MAE) is considering processing feed from its Hammerdown gold project at the Nugget Pond gold plant owned by Rambler Metals and Mining Canada.
Both the project and the plant are located in Newfoundland, in Canada’s Atlantic region.
In order to evaluate the possibility of using the plant, Maritime entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Rambler that includes an exclusivity period of 12 months for Maritime to assess the facility and complete a feasibility study with the option to negotiate a purchase agreement.
Hammerdown was last operated by Richmont Mines between 2000-2004 producing 143,000 ounces of gold at an average mine grade of 15.7 gpt Au through a combination of narrow vein open pit and underground mining
The gold plant is a small section of the total Nugget Pond concentrator plant and is not used to process ore by Rambler.
In a press release, Maritime explained that it will have a right of first refusal to match any competing offers for the plant during this time. In consideration, management will advance a deposit of $200,000 to Rambler.
“This agreement provides Maritime with a 12-month exclusive period to evaluate the Nugget Pond gold plant in further detail for potential future processing of Hammerdown mineralization,” Garett Macdonald, Maritime’s president and CEO, said in the brief. “The gold circuit is currently idle and was operated in the past by Richmont Mines, processing feed from the former Nugget Pond and Hammerdown gold mines with gold recoveries of over 95%. Our recently completed PEA outlined an attractive case for a potential re-start the Hammerdown gold project with an average of 69,500 ounces annual production over the first five years.”
The Hammerdown gold mine sits within the Green Bay property, near the Baie Verte Mining District and Springdale, in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Hammerdown is characterized by near-vertical, narrow mesothermal quartz veins containing gold in pyrite.