Braveheart Resources (TSXV: BHT), the company working on bringing back to life the Bull River project in British Columbia, western Canada, received a positive system impact study from the provincial Hydro and Power Authority on its planned reconnection to grid power at a proposed load of 5 MW.
In a press release, the miner explained that the study determined that it is technically feasible to interconnect the proposed Bull River mine load to the Authority’s transmission system.
“The next phase in reconnection to the grid is the completion of a facilities study, which is required to further define interconnection requirements and establish a time table for BCH’s ability to meet the company’s proposed service date,” the statement reads.
Bull River is located near the city of Cranbrook and hosts copper, gold, silver and cobalt mineralization
Bull River is currently connected to grid power which is sufficient to continue with care and maintenance activities including dewatering of the underground mining infrastructure. However, Braveheart said that in order for management to recommission its 700-tonne-per-day conventional crushing and milling circuit, additional power is required.
The additional power requirements are a consequence of a fire that took place in 2013, which destroyed the surface substation that supplied power to the mill concentrator facility.
“Subsequently the company secured a replacement transformer for the surface substation and intends to install the transformer in the third or fourth quarter of 2020,” the brief reads. “Once the company has successfully commissioned the installation of a new transformer, capable of supplying a minimum load of 5 MW, the project will be de-risked from the perspective of power supply.”
Braveheart plans to advance the Bull River mine project in a phased approach wherein a surface stockpile of mineralized material will provide the initial feedstock to the upgraded mill facility.