New Jersey Mining Company provided an update on operations, development, and rehabilitation at its 100-percent owned Golden Chest Mine project in north Idaho.
Recent highlights from the Golden Chest include:
Through mid-December, approximately 6,000 tonnes of ore from the open pit have been processed at the New Jersey Mill, at an average head grade of 3.8 grams per tonne (gpt) gold with average recoveries of 82-percent. (Recoveries are expected to increase as mining continues to greater depth and more sulfide ore is encountered.)
Open pit mining operations have progressed from the 1116 level down to the recently blasted 1081 and 1078 benches which will provide approximately 4,500 tonnes of ore and, as expected, have returned assays of 4.5 to 5.0 gpt gold.
The first 20-tonne wet metric concentrate shipment from the New Jersey Mill is expected by mid-January and, following a break for additional blasting and then the holidays, ore shipments to the mill have resumed.
Dewatering of the underground mine is nearly complete and more permanent mining equipment and mine ventilation components are being installed, with underground mining operations scheduled to resume early this year.
NJMC President John Swallow stated “Our progress at the Golden Chest continues smoothly and roughly on schedule. We are producing gold concentrate at the mill with our first shipment scheduled and our next shipment in process. The underground mine is largely dewatered with our focus on installing more permanent components required for underground operations. While we were somewhat delayed by extraordinary rainfall late last year, our ability to extend the open pit through the winter months has provided additional flexibility as we begin augmenting open pit ore with ore from underground over the next few months.”
Mr. Swallow continued, “Our strategy for consolidating ownership and advancing the Golden Chest to production was made in late-2015, a time of depressed market sentiment and a down-trending gold price. We continue to build our mining and processing operations based on current market conditions and are well positioned to take advantage of higher gold prices in the months and years ahead.”
About New Jersey Mining Company
New Jersey Mining Company is headquartered in north Idaho, where it is currently in production at its Golden Chest Mine. It is deploying its mining and milling expertise to build a portfolio of advanced-stage assets with near-term cash flow potential and leverage to higher gold prices.
NJMC built and is majority owner and operator of the New Jersey Mill, a 360-tonne per day flotation mill and cyanide leach plant.NJMC owns and operates the Golden Chest Mine project where open pit mining is underway and underground mining is expected to resume early this year.
NJMC also holds a 50-percent interest in the fully-permitted Butte Highlands Gold Project.Company assets were developed with more than $50-million of investment dollars from New Jersey and other companies. Management owns more than 15-percent of NJMC stock and has participated in prior financings and made purchases in the open market.
Del Steiner, Chairman & CEO
Email: dsteiner@newjerseymining.com