The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Bolsters world-class copper portfolio in BC's Golden Triangle North of 60 Mining News – May 17, 2021
Drilling carried out by GT Gold outlined a significant copper-gold deposit at Saddle North on the Tatogga project in BC.
The Quash Pass area about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) southwest of the Saddle North deposit is among the copper-gold targets across the wider Tatogga property.
With the completion of the buyout of GT Gold Corp., Newmont Corp. has bolstered its portfolio of copper-gold projects in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
"With the acquisition of GT Gold and the Tatogga project in the highly sought-after Golden Triangle district of British Columbia, Canada, Newmont continues to strengthen our world-class portfolio," said Newmont President and CEO Tom Palmer.
Newmont first grabbed a solid foothold in the Golden Triangle with the 2018 acquisition of Novagold Resources Inc.'s 50% interest in Galore Creek, a large copper-gold-silver project it now owns in partnership with Teck Resources Ltd.
Shortly after the Galore Creek acquisition, Newmont invested C$17.6 million to acquire an initial stake in GT Gold.
This interest in Tatogga came on the heels of GT Gold's discovery of Saddle North, a porphyry copper-gold deposit similar to those at Newcrest Mining Ltd. and Imperial Metals Corp.'s Red Chris mine about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) to the southeast.
According to the most recent calculation, Saddle North hosts 298 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.28% (1.81 billion pounds) copper, 0.36 grams per metric ton (3.47 million ounces) gold, and 0.8 g/t (7.58 million oz) silver; plus 543 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.25% (2.98 billion lb) copper, 0.31 g/t (5.46 million oz) gold, and 0.7 g/t (11.64 million oz) silver.
Newmont says this deposit "has the potential to contribute future significant gold and copper annual production," and the wider Tatogga property hosts wider exploration opportunities.
To expand upon these mining and exploration opportunities, Newmont paid US$311 million (C$393 million) in cash to acquire the 85.1% of common shares of GT Gold not already owned by the global gold mining company.
Already having a presence in the Golden Triangle, Newmont says it has already begun building a relationship with the Tahltan Nation, whose traditional territory covers both Tatogga and Galore Creek.
"We look forward to continuing to build a respectful and meaningful relationship with the Tahltan Nation, including the community of Iskut," said Palmer. "The relationships we have with Indigenous communities, First Nations, and host communities are critical to the way we operate. We will partner with the Tahltan Nation at all levels, and with the government of British Columbia to ensure a shared path forward as the company understands and acknowledges that Tahltan consent is necessary for advancing the Tatogga project."
For GT Gold, the transaction marks the ultimate objective of many junior exploration companies – a quick and fair buyout by a major mining company.
"As we pass custody of this world-class property to Newmont, we are sure it is in the best hands," said GT Gold Executive Chairman Ashwath Mehra. "I would like to thank the whole team of employees, consultants, advisors and directors, who over the years have helped create GT Gold and made it what [it] is today."
Founded in 2016, GT Gold advanced Tatogga from grassroots exploration to a project with a deposit that attracted a buyout by Newmont in just five years.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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