EnviroGold Global Ltd, which describes itself as a clean technology company “accelerating the world’s transition to a circular-resource economy through the production of metals without mining,” has announce the execution of binding commercial agreements adding the Buchans River Delta Reclamation Project to its portfolio of environmental remediation and asset reclamation projects.
The Buchans project includes approximately 1,225 ha (3,025 acres) of mining claims located in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Consistent with the company’s strategy of reclaiming valuable and strategic commodities while remediating legacy and other environmental hazards, EnviroGold Global anticipates commissioning recovery and clean-up operations in 2022.
The Buchans tailings were produced during decades of mining operations within the Buchans Mining District, which was home to one of the world’s largest volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits. From 1928 to 1984, American Smelting and Refining Company Inc (ASARCO) mined approximately 16 Mt from five deposits with an average mill head grade of 14.51% zinc, 7.56% lead, 1.33% copper, 126 g/t silver and 1.37 g/t gold (see Geoscience Canada, Volume 37, Number 7, December 2010). From the start of the operation to about 1965, tailings from the operations were deposited into the Buchans River and flowed down the creek contributing to the Buchans River Delta.
EnviroGold Global will deploy proprietary modular, scalable reclamation technology & systems designed to remediate the legacy tailings while removing environmental contaminants and reclaiming valuable commodities. The company expects the reclamation technology & systems to be deployed will be designed with the capacity to process up to 1,000 t per day of the reclaimed tailings.
Commenting on the strategic significance of the Buchans River Delta Rehabilitation Project, EnviroGold Global’s CEO, Dr Mark Thorpe, said: “We look forward to leveraging our proprietary technology and systems, in conjunction with other proven, modern, and advanced metallurgical recovery methodologies, to the reclamation of these legacy mine tailings. The company is enthusiastic about the potential for the Buchans Project to remediate the legacy industrial waste located in Buchans River Delta while recovering valuable commodities remaining from the previous operations, thus providing a win-win for the company, local stakeholders, and the environment.”
EnviroGold Global added that it will continue to provide guidance on its project portfolio as new projects are added. Projects under consideration include several tailings storage facilities, industrial waste, e-waste, and other environmental hazards where the company’s internal assessments have indicated the potential for economic recoveries of valuable and strategic commodities.