US Gold CEO George Bee
The CK gold mining project, in Wyoming, is on track for all the necessary permits for development by the middle of the year, US Gold Corp CEO George Bee reported on Wednesday, announcing the approval of a mine operating permit.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) issued US Gold subsidiary Gold King a surface gold mine permit, subject to certain conditions.
"Having previously been granted the industrial siting permit in June last year and now the mine operating permit we have cleared the major regulatory hurdles towards project development. Work to meet final authorisation for development is well under way,” he said.
The remaining conditions are the approval of the reclamation bond, which has been submitted, the Wyoming pollutant discharge elimination system permitting process, which is in the final stages of approval, and the WDEQ air quality division permits, where technical work is under review.
US Gold pivoted from a purely exploration focus on its assets in Nevada and Idaho to development of the CK gold project in 2020.
In December 2021, the company released the project's SK-1300 technical report prefeasibility study (PFS), which highlights the project's near-term, openpit production potential. In the first three years of operation, CK will produce 135 300 gold-equivalent ounces a year.
The PFS places an initial capital requirement of $221-million on the project, calculating a two-year payback, and an internal rate of return of 33.7% after tax.