Altamira Gold (TSXV: ALTA) received a second environmental permit required for the trial mining licenses with respect to claim 866.070/2004 for its advanced Cajueiro gold project in Brazil.
In a press release, the Canadian miner said the publication of a second environmental permit gives the company the right to extract additional material from a larger area including all of the Crente resource.
Located in the northern part of the Mato Grosso state in western Brazil, the Cajueiro project comprises a large land package that sits atop the Alta Floresta – Juruena Gold Belt. Historic gold production in the belt is recognized to be in the range of 7-10 million ounces, primarily from garimpeiro activity
Following the receipt of the permit from environmental authorities, Altamira submitted it to the National Mining Agency to support its application for a second trial mining license, which will allow for the processing of 100,000 tonnes of mineralized material per year.
In late April, the miner announced a $6-million gold forward purchase agreement deal with Metalstream Inc. to fund the construction of a 1,000 tonne-per-day processing plant and commence mining of the oxide resources at the Cajueiro project.
“The publication of the second Environmental License on our flagship Cajueiro project is yet another important milestone for the company as we advance towards trial mining and gold production during late 2021 and demonstrates that Brazil has in the last twelve months accelerated its mining and environmental permitting system,” Michael Bennett, Altamira Gold’s president and CEO, said in the media brief. “The second bulk sampling license will enable Altamira to produce 100,000 tonnes of ore during the initial year of mining and will help to reach the goal of achieving short term cash flow.”
Two additional environmental permit applications are currently pending, which cover the Baldo and Matrincha resource areas and will pave the way for the granting of two additional trial mining licences. Such licences would allow Altamira to increase production to a maximum of 200,000 tonnes of mineralized material per year.