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It looks as if Scorpio Gold is set to move ahead with expansions at its Mineral Ridge project in Nevada. On Tuesday, the company received a favorable decision on its amended plan of operations for the mine from the Bureau of Land Management.
The BLM Tonopah Field Office issued a decision record and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the company’s environmental assessment (EA) for its Mineral Ridge Mine Mary LC Satellite Deposit Project Amendment.
Last June, Mineral Ridge Gold, Scorpio’s 70 percent-owned subsidiary, submitted the amendment to include operations at the company’s Bluelite and Solberry pits at Mineral Ridge. The amended plan will also include two new waste rock disposal areas, the addition of a physical barrier to public access near the crusher and the reallocation and increase of exploration disturbance areas at the project.
“We are very pleased that our Amendment to the Plan of Operations has been accepted by the State and Federal regulators,” said Scorpio CEO Peter J. Hawley in Tuesday’s release. “This approval allows us to move forward with our scheduled mining at the Bluelite and Solberry pits in Q2 2015. “
Hawley also pointed out that the Bluelite and Solberry deposits have not been previously mined, meaning that their high-grade core zones are preserved. The company expects these zones to positively impact the grade of ore being processed at Mineral Ridge and at Scorpio’s Goldwedge mill facility.
Indeed, drilling at Solberry is turning out good results; highlights of drill results from the company’s 2014 program at the deposit included intercepts of 12.54 grams per ton of gold over 15.91 meters, 3.89 grams per ton of gold over 4.05 meters and 1.95 grams per ton of gold over 6.10 meters. Scorpio commenced its 2015 drill program at Mineral Ridge last month, shifting its focus to “shallow mineralization that is amenable to open pit mining.”
Certainly, the BLM approval is a positive development for the company, and investors will be watching for more updates from the company in the near future.
Shares of Scorpio were up about 13 percent during Tuesday trading hours, but had shifted back down to $0.115 by close of day. Roughly 140,000 shares traded hands, over twice the daily average for the company.
Securities Disclosure: I, Teresa Matich, hold no direct or indirect investment in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
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