New York-listed Cantango Ore has expanded its portfolio of projects in Alaska with the recent acquisition of Canada-based HighGold Mining which will provide an opportunity for significant growth in gold production over the next five years.
The acquisition was approved by HighGold shareholders on June 27, 2024, and was subsequently approved by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on July 2, 2024.
Contango already owns a 30% interest in the high grade Manh Choh open pit gold mine in Alaska, developing it in partnership with Kinross Gold Corporation. The newest acquisition of the HighGold’s flagship Johnson Tract project plays a key part in Contango’s expansion strategy.
The Johnson Tract project is poised to benefit from Cantango’s direct shipping ore (DSO) model under which it will transporting ore to existing processing facilities. The company already uses a similar approach for its Manh Choh mine, ore from which is transported and processed at Kinross' existing Fort Knox mill complex located near Fairbanks, Alaska.
“Our five year plan is to grow production from our existing projects to 200,000 ounces of annual gold equivalent production. By developing high-grade, high-quality mines that can utilize the DSO model by transporting our ore to existing and permitted operating processing facilities, we will reduce our environmental footprint and thereby lower our permitting risk, as well as lower the overall capital requirements to achieve commercial production,” said Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, CEO and president of Contango.
Johnson Tract indicated resources are 3.489 million tons of ore graded at 9.39 g/t for a total of around 1 million ounces of gold equivalent.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
