The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News – May 31, 2024
The solar energy generating system being installed under a partnership with Tlicho Investment Corporation will significantly lower costs and emissions to power STLLR Gold's Colomac camp.
A Solvest solar array installed under a partnership with Tahltan Nation Development Corp. at the Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project in British Columbia.
STLLR Gold Inc. and the Tlicho Investment Corporation (TIC) May 29 announced that the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) is providing C$619,625 (US$453,320) to install solar panels and battery storage to power the camp at STLLR's Colomac gold project in Northwest Territories.
"The solar farm will supply most of our camp's power requirements, while significantly reducing operating costs and fuel emissions," said STLLR Gold President and CEO Keyvan Salehi.
Given the long hours of sunlight available across the North during the summer months, solar is an ideal solution for camps built to support mineral exploration and other mine project activities in this area.
The use of solar energy to power the Colomac camp is expected to reduce diesel consumption by roughly 51,000 liters (13,500 gallons) per year. That is roughly C$87,000 (US$64,000) in annual savings for the diesel itself and does not include the costs to transport the fuel to the remote camp about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
In addition to the costs associated with buying and delivering the fuel, the switch to solar will eliminate roughly 138 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions at Colomac per year.
As a bonus for camp workers, the solar-powered camp will be much quieter without the steady drone of diesel generators.
The project being developed under an agreement between STLLR and TIC will include the purchase and installation of a solar power generation storage unit (panels, inverters, and batteries), as well as training for operating and maintaining the renewable energy system.
A Solvest solar array installed under a partnership with Tahltan Nation Development Corp. at the Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project in British Columbia.
TIC has developed a collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship with Solvest Inc. for the solar system installation at Colomac. The business arm of the Tlicho First Nation government in Northwest Territories is also contributing roughly C$155,000 (US$113,400) to the overall C$774,543 (US$566,660) project.
"TIC firmly believes that a thriving economy needs strategic investments and collaborative partnerships to build a sustainable future," said Tlicho Investment Corporation CEO Paul Gruner. "This project will contribute to our renewable energy capacity and will also serve as an exemplary model of sustainable development for the NWT and Canada as a whole."
Salehi says the solar panel installation agreement with TIC helps strengthen STLLR's relationship with the Tlicho Nation.
"The agreement also demonstrates our commitment to long-term sustainable practices and safeguarding the ecosystem at Colomac," the STLLR CEO added.
STLLR, which was known as Nighthawk Gold prior to its merger with Moneta Gold in February, is advancing exploration and predevelopment activities at Colomac and the wider Indin Lake property where this gold project is found.
A preliminary economic assessment prepared about a year ago outlines plans for a mine at Colomac that would produce an average of 290,000 ounces of gold annually over 11 years of operation.
It is expected that STLLR will carry out additional exploration that will support optimizing the mine plan ahead of advancing the project to feasibility-level studies and permitting.
This advanced gold exploration will be powered by cleaner and quieter solar energy being developed under a partnership with TIC and investment by CanNor.
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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