Nord Precious Metals (TSXV: NTH; OTCQB: CCWOF) is making plans to retreat tailings from and recover broken ore from the historic Castle silver mine near Gowganda, Ont. The company is working with the Ontario Ministry of Mines regarding permits essential to the project.
The tailings from previous operations at the mine site will be reprocessed and the resulting waste will be stored underground as backfill rather than on the surface. In this way the historic crown pillar will be stabilized. Not only will the structural integrity be improved, but the chance of a tailings spill will be reduced.
Nord also plans to recover broken ore left in the historic stopes. Cobalt and silver will be recovered from it at the Temiskaming Testing Laboratories, the company’s R&D arm.
The historic silver mine was periodically active between 1917 and 1989. It produced 9.5 million oz. of silver and 300,000 lb. of cobalt from the No.3 shaft. Additional ore was hoisted through the Castle No.3 and Capitol shafts between 1951 and 1966, but the amount of metal recovered is unknown.
Nord has already poured a 1,000-oz. bar of silver and made a high-grade cobalt-nickel gravity concentrate from the old waste pile at the Castle mine. The concentrate was further treated to produce cobalt sulphate for the Asian market.
“We are committed to advancing our operations at the Castle mine responsibly and sustainably,” said Frank Basa, CEO at Nord. “Our focus on recovery and optimization aligns with our strategic goals of maximizing resource utilization while prioritizing environmental stewardship.”
Nord is also advancing the design for a ramp at the Castle East property, and the design will incorporate new drill results near the Capitol mine.
The most recent resource update was made in 2021. It contains an inferred portion of 32,900 tonnes grading 7,147 g/t silver (7.6 million oz.) plus cobalt, copper and other base metals.
Technical reports for the Castle project and other of Nord’s properties are posted on www.NordPreciousMetals.com.
