Liberty gold said today that it purchased historic Black Pine Mine water rights, securing an additional water supply and further de-risking its black pine oxide gold deposit in Idaho.
Liberty Gold is focused on exploring and developing the Great Basin of the United States. Black Pine in Idaho is a past-producing open-pit mine.
“In this part of the world, I don’t think it is possible to overemphasize the importance of securing water rights pursuant to the future permitting and operation of a mine. The team has worked diligently over the last two years to acquire water rights, secure land and mineral rights and advance power agreements, which have significantly de-risked Black Pine’s future operations,” said Liberty CEO Jason Attew.
Liberty said rights secured are for 868.5 acre feet per annum. Both rights are registered to the Black Pine Mine Well immediately adjacent to the potential site of a future heap leach pad. Liberty Gold has now secured, through a combination of purchase and long-term lease, an aggregate of 3,202 AFA (~4 million m3/yr) of process water supply, sufficient for any future large-scale mining operation envisioned at Black Pine.
The company said that the secured rights "materially de-risks the Black Pine project from a development perspective."
