Metanor Resources (MTO.V) is investigating all possibilities to re-open the Barry open pit mine in Québec, as the gold price has been moving in the company’s advantage. A few years ago, Metanor already trucked ore from Barry to be processed at the Bachelor Lake mill, but as the gold price was trading at just C$1200-1250 back then, the operation was losing money and it wasn’t the best idea to continue throwing cash at the operation.
However, times have changed and the current gold price in Canadian Dollar is approximately C$1700, indicating the margin of error is now much higher. Even though it will remain a low-margin operation to truck ore with an average grade of 1.29-1.65 g/t to Barry, it will be interesting to see if Metanor can come up with a viable plan. We would like to see an economic study which could consider the construction of a concentrator whereby the ore from Barry would be concentrated before trucking it to Bachelor Lake, but that seems to be a longer term plan. One of the advantages of processing the Barry ore is the fact that Sandstorm Gold (SSL.TO, SAND) will NOT be entitled to a 25% stream as Barry was not included in the original streaming agreement.
The company is also gearing up for an extensive 60,000 meter drill program at the new Moroy discovery. We expect Metanor to start with a 10,000 meter campaign where after it could raise more funds in a flow-through financing.
Go to Metanor’s website
The author holds a long position in Metanor Resources. Metanor is a sponsor of the website. Please read the disclaimer
