Canada's Northern Vertex is preparing to start production at the first major gold-silver mine in Arizona in years, a company spokesman said Friday.
"We're commissioning the equipment right now," Christopher Curran said. "We hope to do our first pour by February."
The Vancouver-based company had hoped to begin production late this year at the Moss mine but has been delayed slightly because it is constructing a power line to supply electricity to the mine site from Bullhead City, a northwestern Arizona city of 35,000 about 10 miles away.
"Right now, we're doing some electrical to the crushers," he said. "We expect that to be completed fairly soon."
Northern Vertex wrapped up financing Thursday for the $34 million project by drawing its fourth and final $5 million tranche from Sprott Resource Lending. Northern Vertex also signed a flexible $6 million working capital facility with Greenstone Resources LP that is available in up to four tranches.
Curran said the company is in the process of finalizing an offtake agreement with an undisclosed entity to send the mined gold and silver to a US refinery "that will sell it off."
Production is estimated at 42,000 oz/year, with gold representing about 85% of that total.
Northern Vertex expects to do about 30,000 oz in the first year as the mine ramps up.
"In the fourth year, we expect to pour closer to 60,000 oz," he said. The mine's anticipated life is about 10 years, "but we're hoping to extend it and find more gold on the property," Curran said. "Right now, our resources are about 400,000 oz of gold, but we think we can find more gold on the property."
