NorZinc Receives Final Permits Needed for Prairie Creek

Parks Canada has granted Canadian mining company NorZinc (TSX:NZC,OTCQB:NORZF) the necessary water license and land use permit for its portion of the all season access road to the Prairie Creek mine in the Northwest Territories, allowing the company to begin construction and production at the site. 

The company, which has been applying for these permits since 2018, expects to open construction on the site by Q1 2020 as projected in NorZinc’s Q3 2019 results. 

“We finally have the last major permit in place to build the Prairie Creek Mine and will be working very hard over the coming weeks to present, and obtain approval for, the management and monitoring plans for the all season road so we can advance construction and start to build,” Don MacDonald, president and CEO of NorZinc, said in a statement.

“The timely approval of the management plans will be critical for us to continue to meet our development schedule outlined over 16 months ago,” he added. “It is also critical that we develop the Prairie Creek mine in a manner that is the most environmentally sustainable and with the strongest local indigenous support.” 

Prairie Creek is a lead-zinc-silver mine located in the Dene territory of the Northwest Territories. According to the company’s 2017 feasibility study, Prairie Creek will have a mine life of 15 years with an average annual metal contained in concentrate of 105 million pounds lead, 95 million pounds zinc and 2.1 million ounces of silver for the first 10 years. 

The company has also taken steps to work with local indigenous groups, having signed two impact benefit agreements with the communities to provide support for the mine’s development. 

NorZinc has made progress throughout the year regarding its permits for the Prairie Creek mine. The company received water licenses and the necessary land use permit from the Mackenzie Valley Land & Water Board earlier this month on November 14.

The Vancouver-based company’s share price has oscillated this year, experiencing multiple spikes throughout 2019, but with falls in between. However, on November 22, NorZinc traded for C$0.09, a 12.5 percent increase since January. The company’s share price experienced its highest spike between April 15 and 29, when it traded for C$0.12, 25 percent higher than its November 21 price. 

As of Monday (November 25) at 10:31 a.m. EST, NorZinc traded for C$0.09. Meanwhile in London on November 22, lead traded for US$1,957 per metric ton while zinc traded for US$2,313 per metric ton. 

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Securities Disclosure: I, Sasha Dhesi, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.