Great Atlantic Resources’ wholly owned subsidiary, Golden Promise Mines Inc, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Novamera Inc to evaluate the use of surgical mining and Novamera’s technologies as the extraction method for the Jaclyn Main Zone in central Newfoundland, Canada.
The Jaclyn Main Zone is part of the wider Golden Promise gold property, and currently contains an NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate of 119,900 oz at 10.4 g/t Au in the inferred category.
The MoU sets out a series of milestones that include a conceptual surgical mining economic desktop evaluation, Guidance Tool calibration activities and a bulk sample. The parties expect to complete these activities within the next 12 months.
Novamera is a surgical mining technology company that has developed data driven hardware and software solutions that pinpoint, map, navigate and extract high value narrow vein deposits. Its precision drilling products integrate into conventional drilling equipment, enabling mining companies to quickly and sustainably mine various metal and mineral deposits that are otherwise uneconomic due to size, geometry and orientation, it says. The process has large scale environmental and social impacts to support ESG targets and improve social licence. Requiring a small footprint with no blasting, the solution produces 95% less waste, 44% less GHG emissions and 99% less water discharge.
Surgical mining is an option for bringing deposits into production that are the size and style of the Jaclyn Main Zone, according to the companies.
Given the low upfront capital costs and minimal development costs, surgical mining enables junior mining companies to get into production and generate cash flow, offering a second source of cash and relying less on the capital markets to fund strategic plans, Novamera states. In addition, the time to permits can be reduced because of the small footprint and scale of the operation.
Newfoundland is well known to Novamera, with some of its surgical mining technology tests taking place in Baie Verte at the Signal Gold-owned Romeo and Juliet deposit.
Christopher Anderson, CEO of Great Atlantic Resources, said: “We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with Novamera Inc. as we explore the potential of surgical mining and Novamera’s innovative technologies for the Jaclyn Main Zone project. This collaboration underscores our commitment to sustainable and efficient mining practices, which we believe will not only benefit our shareholders but also contribute positively to environmental preservation. We look forward to the journey ahead and the possibilities it holds for our company and the mining industry as a whole.”
Dustin Angelo, Novamera CEO, said: “We’re excited to be working with Great Atlantic and demonstrating the capabilities of surgical mining and our technologies. Mining companies like Great Atlantic are looking for solutions to bring deposits into production with a smaller environmental footprint than that of conventional mining methods. The willingness to look at a different business model will open more strategic options to generate value for their shareholders and realise positive cash flow sooner for a project.”
The Golden Promise property is located within the central Newfoundland gold belt, near the town of Badger. Multiple gold bearing quartz veins/quartz vein systems and zones of gold bearing quartz boulders are reported within the property. One such quartz vein system is the Jaclyn Main Zone.