Why our latest exploration permits are so key to meeting our goals…

I think it’s fair to say the markets are a little on the slow side at the moment. 

It can be frustrating. Still, we remain confident in the future of our sector. 

After all, the anticipated gap in the supply of so many metals – many of which we are exploring for – is surely too high for conditions not to improve. 

In the meantime, rather focusing on things we can’t control, we’re continuing to focus on those we can. 

This is what we can do to maximise shareholder value when sentiment turns. And ultimately, that’s exactly what we’re all in this for. 

In this vein, I was pleased to reveal that we have been granted exploration permits for our North Hemlo and Esa properties last week. 

In fact, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I believe this is among the most important developments we’ve made to date. 

Let me explain… 

Putting the community first 

First off, and perhaps most significantly, there’s the ESG implications of the permits. They confirm the support of all stakeholders involved in and exposed to North Hemlo and Esa.

Getting hold of exploration permits in Ontario – or anywhere, for that matter – is no walk in the park. 

Among other criteria, they require a consultation with the First Nations communities who will be impacted by our activities at the projects to ensure they have their voice heard.

This is not something we take lightly.  

Indeed, as we set out in our ESG Statement, we’re absolutely committed to building and maintaining strong, consultative, and respectful relations with these local communities. We want to support socio-economic development, provide employment, and improve living standards.

That’s why Marc – our CEO – has spent countless hours over recent months ensuring we understand and meet their needs. 

The licences, I believe, are proof that we are meeting our goals. 

Learning and learning 

Moving on, and another important consequence of these permits is that they allow us to learn a lot more about Esa and North Hemlo. 

You see, they enable us to complete both drilling and stripping at the projects for three years. 

Of course, the significance of drilling is pretty self-explanatory – it’s what makes mineral discoveries happen. But equally, one should not sleep on the value of stripping. 

This term – if you haven’t heard of it before – refers to the process of removing overlying layers of non-valuable material like soil, rock, or vegetation. 

This allows explorers to expose the most prospective areas of their target areas for focused drilling. In many cases, drilling wouldn’t be able to take place at all or would be more akin to stabbing in the dark without the process. 

At North Hemlo, we will focus initially on stripping the overburden covering the Dead Otter trend, particularly around the historical 3.1ppm gold and 0.59% molybdenum showing. We will also focus on stripping in an area 3km to the south east, where samples have reported grades of up to 19.6ppm gold.  

Our work in both areas will allow us to conduct a far more in-depth appraisal of North Hemlo’s structures to inform drilling. 

Meanwhile, at Esa, stripping will focus on overburden covering selective parts of the shear where soil samples have indicated strong gold and pathfinder elements anomalism.

We look forward to seeing what new information the work uncovers at both projects. 

Drill ready status 

Third and finally, the two new exploration permits put us very much on target to achieve our principal 2023 objective – Bringing all four of our flagship properties (Sunbeam, Zigzag, Esa, and North Hemlo) to drill ready status. 

We already had exploration permits for Sunbeam and Zigzag. So, in this sense, then, we’ve now “completed the collection”. 

As our news releases show, we’ve been busy on the ground advancing towards drill-ready status at all four projects this year in conjunction with our permitting efforts. Plans are even underway to meet the second part of our stated aim – to drill one of the projects before the end of 2023. 

More on that over the coming weeks.

 But in the meantime, as we explained in this week’s release, we are now entering a period of “significant news and progress”. I look forward to writing to you to tell you more about what we’re doing over the remainder of the year.