Rise Gold (CSE: RISE) announced that it is one step closer to the reopening of the historic, past-producing Idaho-Maryland gold mine, located in California.
In a press release, the US company reported that the Nevada County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the contract for Raney Planning & Management to prepare the environmental impact report and conduct contract planning services on behalf of the County for the project.
Idaho-Maryland was reportedly the second-largest gold mine in the United States in 1941
According to Rise, this is a critical milestone in the processing of the Use Permit application. Thus, Raney will begin work immediately to review the technical studies submitted by the miner and kickstart the preparation of the draft EIR.
Once a final EIR is submitted to the County, its members certify the environmental document and consider approval of the Use Permit and Reclamation Plan at a public hearing. Rise expects the entire process to be finalized by sometime between December 2020 and May 2021.
The Idaho-Maryland project is Rise Gold’s main asset. It is located in the Grass Valley mining district of northern California and was one of the most productive and best known gold mines in the United States, with gold production dating back to 1863.
The mine was active for almost a century and during that period it produced over 2.4 million ounces of gold at an average mill head grade of 17 gpt gold.