Aquila’s Back Forty Permit Upheld by State of Michigan

After a lengthy court battle, Aquila Resources (TSX:AQA,OTCQB:AQARF) has been issued a final decision and order from the State of Michigan that upholds the mining permit for the company’s Back Forty zinc-gold project.

The company met local conflict in February 2017 when the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and an individual owning property near the project site contested the mining permit’s issuance on the grounds of environmental concerns.

An evidentiary hearing began in April 2018 and ran until October of that year; this past Friday (May 3), after 30 days of cumulative testimony, a judge gave a final decision on the matter.

According to Aquila, the judge found that “the proposed mining operation will not pollute, impair, or destroy the air, water and other natural resources, or the public trust in those resources.”

Commenting on the recent development was Aquila President and CEO Barry Hildred, who elaborated that the company will continue to work with the State of Michigan going forward.

“The Back Forty mine will be a safe, disciplined operation that promotes and supports local community socio-economic development and is protective of the environment,” he said.

While Aquila has two other exploration projects under its belt — the Reef gold project and the Bend copper-gold project, both in Wisconsin — Back Forty remains its flagship asset. According to the company, Back Forty contains approximately 1.1 billion pounds of zinc and 1 million ounces of gold in the measured and indicated mineral resource categories.

An open pit feasibility study for Back Forty released in August 2018 highlights financial fundamentals such as an after-tax net present value of US$208 million and an internal rate of return of 28.2 percent. The study dockets a seven year project life with total payable gold production of 468,000 ounces and total payable zinc production of 512 million pounds.

As of 12:05 p.m. EDT on Monday (May 6), Aquila Resources’ share price was 2.7 percent higher at C$0.19.

Zinc was trading at US$2,865 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange as of last Friday.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.