Spring Valley Gold Mine Begins Preparing for Environmental Impact Statement
Spring Valley Gold Mine Begins Preparing for
Environmental Impact Statement
Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - March 27, 2024) - Sailfish Royalty Corp. (TSXV: FISH)
(OTCQX: SROYF) (the "
Company
" or "
Sailfish
") is pleased to announce that on March 18, 2024 a
Notice of Intent ("
NOI
") to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement ("
EIS
") for the Proposed Spring
Valley Gold Mine ("
Spring Valley Mine Project
") located in Pershing County, Nevada, was published in
the federal register.
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management ("
BLM
")
Humboldt River Field Office in Winnemucca, Nevada, intends to prepare an EIS to consider the effects
of the Spring Valley Mine Project.
This news follows the Company's previous Spring Valley Mine Project announcement on July 26, 2023,
whereby the BLM acknowledged receipt of a Plan of Operations and Nevada Reclamation Permit
Application (
"PO"
) for the Spring Valley Mine Project and confirmed that it is technically complete under
the terms of the relevant permitting statutes (see the Company's new release dated July 26, 2023 for
further information).
Paolo Lostritto, CEO stated, "We are excited to see the permitting process continue to advance at the
Spring Valley Mine Project as our royalty portfolio covers 100% of the proposed open pit as outlined in
the Plan of Operations with the majority of the royalty coverage resulting in a 3% net smelter return royalty
payable to Sailfish. The filing of the NOI to prepare an EIS is a significant step forward towards
becoming an operating mine. The reference document highlights an expected Record of Decision by the
winter of 2025. The Spring Valley Mine Project is one of the largest gold development projects in the
Americas and is a core value driver for Sailfish shareholders."
Plan of Operations:
The PO covers 698 unpatented claims and 895 mill site claims as well as private fee lands, either owned
or controlled by the Operator and proposes, among other things, the following activities and facilities:
Development of the Spring Valley open pit;
Construction of pit dewatering facilities, including rapid infiltration basins;
Development of three waste rock storage facilities;
Development of a heap leach facility;
Construction of a crushing circuit;
Construction of carbon processing and refining facilities;
Development of light duty and haul roads;
Development of stormwater control structures;
Development of other facilities including the mine fleet shop, explosives storage, truck shop,
refueling area, and mine offices;
Development of site infrastructure including parking areas, yards, storage areas, and an
aggregate plant; and
Development of site utilities including: power distribution, a used materials pad, freshwater
distribution, potable water system, fire water system, sewage system, communications facilities,
and fuel storage and distribution facilities.
The PO states that the proposed operation will use conventional open pit mining methods. The PO
outlines the excavation of the open pit to occur over 13 years, which includes 18-24 months of pre-
stripping during construction. Over the life of mine, approximately 323 million tons of mineralized material
is expected to be mined, along with 598 million tons of waste rock and 328 million tons of alluvium.
The
average mining rate for Spring Valley is expected to be approximately 100 million tons of material per
year.
The proposed operation would employ a contractor workforce of approximately 130 employees during
the initial two-year construction period and approximately 250 full-time employees for the operations
period. The proposed operation would operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The total life of the
Spring Valley Mine Project would be 29 years, including two years of construction, 11 years of mining,
three additional years of ore processing, and 13 years of reclamation and closure activities.
As a reminder to shareholders, the Company's current royalty portfolio on the Spring Valley Mine Project
covers 100% of the open pit as outlined in the PO, with the majority of the acres included in the proposed
open pit covered by a 3% net smelter return royalty ("
NSR
") at prevailing gold prices. See Figure 1
below.
Sailfish holds the following Spring Valley Mine Project royalty assets:
1
.
up to a 3% NSR
1
on a majority of the acres included in the proposed open pit at Spring Valley
Mine Project (royalty boundary in blue);
2
.
a 1.5% NSR on a portion of the proposed open pit at Spring Valley Mine Project (royalty boundary
in pink); and
3
.
a 0.5% NSR on a portion of the proposed open pit at Spring Valley Mine Project (royalty boundary
in yellow
2
).
Figure 1 - Sailfish Royalty Corp.'s various Spring Valley Mine Project royalty holdings (boundaries are
approximate).
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5699/203226_0e3856b9f4556987_001full.jpg
1
For clarity, the up to 3% NSR owned by Sailfish is part of a total 7% NSR above $700/oz. Au. The
sliding scale NSR royalty is not payable on the first 500,000 ounces of gold recovered from any
commercial production.
2
Excluding the areas included in the blue and pink boundaries.
Spring Valley hosts a 2014 published National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects
("
NI 43-101
") compliant report. The technical report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on
Resources, Spring Valley Project", effective August 1, 2014, was prepared by William J. Crowl, R.G.,
MMSA QP, Zachary J. Black, SME-RM and Deepak Malhotra, PhD, SME-RM and filed by Midway Gold
Corp. on September 9, 2014 and is based on work completed in a joint venture between Midway Gold
Corp. and Barrick Gold Corporation (the "
Technical Report
"). The technical report is available at
www.sedarplus.ca
under Midway Gold Corp.'s profile.
About Sailfish
Sailfish is a precious metals royalty and streaming company. Within Sailfish's portfolio are three main
assets in the Americas: a gold stream equivalent to a 3% NSR on the San Albino gold mine (~3.5 sq.
km) and a 2% NSR on the rest of the area (~134.5 sq. km) surrounding San Albino in northern
Nicaragua; an up to 3% NSR on the multi-million ounce Spring Valley gold project in Pershing County,
Nevada; and a 100% interest in the Gavilanes Silver Project located in Durango State, Mexico.
Sailfish is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "FISH" and on the OTCQX under the
symbol "SROYF". Please visit the Company's website at
for additional information.
Qualified Person
Dr. Matthew D. Gray, President, Resource Geosciences Incorporated, Qualified Person under NI 43-
101 on standards of disclosure for mineral projects, has reviewed and approved the technical content of
this release. To verify the technical content of this disclosure Dr. Gray reviewed the: Spring Valley Mine
Plan of Operations and Nevada Reclamation Permit Application prepared by Solidus Resources Spring
Valley, Nevada, USA; and the BLM acknowledgement letter, obtained from the NDEP and the Humboldt
River field office of the BLM.
For further information:
Paolo Lostritto, CEO, tel. 416-602-2645 or Akiba Leisman, Executive
Chairman of the Board, tel. 917-558-5289.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as the term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information
Certain disclosures in this release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical
facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as the following: expects, plans,
anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, assumes, potential and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements also include reference to events or conditions that will, would, may, could
or should occur, including, without limitation, statements regarding: advancement of the permitting
process for Spring Valley; plans relating to the development and construction of Spring Valley as
contemplated in the PO; expected mining results over the LOM; expected Record of Decision by the
winter of 2025; and discussion of future plans, projects, objectives, estimates and forecasts and the
timing related thereto. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company
has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including,
without limitation: that BLM will approve the PO and the Operator will receive necessary permits to
complete its proposed development and construction of Spring Valley as contemplated in the PO; the
development and construction of Spring Valley will be completed as contemplated in the PO; and that
future mining operations at Spring Valley will produce the anticipated results. However, the forward-
looking statements in this news release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-
looking statements, including without limitation: that BLM does not approve the PO and the Operator
is unable to obtain the necessary permits to complete its proposed development and construction of
Spring Valley as contemplated in the PO; the proposed development and construction of Spring
Valley is not completed as contemplated in the PO; the results of future mining operations at Spring
Valley may be less favorable than anticipated; and those applicable risks, uncertainties and factors
set forth in the Company's disclosure record under the Company's profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com
.There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-
looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate
for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement,
forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/203226