Lake Shore now can initiate an advanced exploration program, which the company said will include environmental and mine engineering, surface infrastructure, shaft and/or ramp construction, scheduling, underground drilling and bulk sampling. The program is expected to take 24 months to complete, during which time resource expansion and exploration drilling programs will continue.

Lake Shore President and CEO, Brian Booth, said: “Acceptance of the closure plan is a major regulatory requirement and represents a significant milestone in the development of Timmins West. Contracts have been awarded for road and bridge construction and work is already under way. We are drilling the pilot hole for the shaft, which will provide access to mineralization and allow us to take a 20,000-ton bulk sample and drill the deeper zones of the deposit from underground. We really appreciate the support that we have received for this project from the Ontario government, the municipality of Timmins, and local communities.”

Completion of the pre-feasibility study at Timmins West is expected by the end of the second quarter. The prefeasibility study contemplates using the Bell Creek mill, which Lake Shore is in the process of acquiring from the Porcupine Joint Venture (PJV), as the location for processing ore from Timmins West. The Bell Creek mill, which has a capacity of processing up to 1,500 mt/d, uses gravity concentration, cyanide leaching and carbon-in-pulp gold absorption processes. It has been on care and maintenance since the formation of the PJV in 2002 at which time all ore from the Hoyle Pond mine was re-routed to the Dome mill. Lake Shore said a preliminary review indicates it can be made operational quickly and with low capital cost.

Timmins West is Lake Shore’s most advanced property, with gold mineral resource estimates totaling 1.3 million oz in the indicated category and 200,000 oz in the inferred category.