Stonegate to Resume Permitting Activity at Paris Hills Phosphate Project in Idaho

Stonegate Agricom (TSX:ST) announced that it plans to resume permitting activities at its Paris Hills underground phosphate mine in Idaho after groundwater testing conducted during the summer of 2015 confirmed previous groundwater pumping assumptions used in the feasibility study. The company also announced that it intends to raise additional funding in 2015.
As quoted in the press release:

In addition to the permitting work planned in the months ahead, in order to reduce overall operating costs, Stonegate intends to further explore possible ways of optimizing the Lower Zone mine plan through changes to mine sequencing, staff scheduling, and crushing, among other factors. Also, the Company intends to proceed with feasibility work for the Paris Hills Upper Phosphate Zone focusing on the mineable portion of its 60.3 million tonnes of 22.7% P₂O₅ Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource (Measured 28.4 million at 22.8% P₂O₅ and Indicated 31.8 million at 22.6% P₂O₅) for direct shipment to beneficiation plants elsewhere. This work is expected to be completed by the early part of 2016.

Ian McDonald, chairman and CEO of Stonegate, commented:

The news on the testing is very good because it confirms the third-party consultant’s groundwater pumping assumptions for the Lower Phosphate Zone. We can now put the delay caused by the uncertainty over the groundwater estimates behind us and we can proceed as we had previously planned to submit permitting applications. The final permits for the Lower Zone mine are expected to be received in 2016. A key advantage for the Paris Hills Lower Zone, as confirmed in the Feasibility Study, is that the average grade for its Mineral Reserve is 29.5% P₂O₅, which is within the range of phosphate rock concentrate grades of 28% – 32% P₂O₅ from sedimentary deposits that are typically purchased by fertilizer manufacturers. This allows us to direct ship the Lower Zone phosphate material without any beneficiation or processing. Our situation is unique in the United States since other phosphate deposits have average grades ranging in the order of 10% – 23% P₂O₅ and require additional capital expenditures for beneficiation plants in order to produce a concentrate.

Click here to read the full Stonegate Agricom (TSX:ST) press release.