BC Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle Development
The BC Golden Triangle is situated in a prolific, mineral-rich region in northwest British Columbia, Canada. It boasts a diverse record of historical discoveries, past and ongoing production, and, more recently, major new base and precious mineral discoveries by junior mining companies. The Golden Triangle is renowned as a world-class mining area, known for numerous producing mines (Red Chris, Snip, Johnny Mountain, Eskay Creek, Granduc, Valley of the Kings, Premiere), large advanced projects (GJ, Schaft Creek, Galore Creek, KSM, Red Mountain), and, most notably, several exciting discovery projects. These include Newmont's recent announcement of its intention to pay C$393 million to acquire GT Gold's copper and gold-rich Saddle discoveries on its Tatogga property. The region's significance is underscored by a mix of established mines, advanced projects, and promising discoveries, positioning the BC Golden Triangle as a hub of mining activity and potential.
In the 1980s, there was significant junior exploration activity in the Golden Triangle, resulting in the discovery of the SNIP mine. This was followed by the discovery of the ESKAY Creek mine, backed by the legendary mining promoter and mine finder, Murray Pezim. The Eskay Creek mine went on to produce approximately 3.3 million ounces of gold and 160 million ounces of silver from 1994 to 2008. The average grades were 45 g/t Au for gold and 2,224 g/t Ag for silver. At its peak, Eskay was recognized as the world's highest-grade gold mine and the fifth-largest silver mine by volume.
In June 2022, Hawkeye sold its McBride, Railway, Boomerang, and Todagin properties in the BC Golden Triangle to Newcrest Red Chris Mining Ltd. ("Newcrest"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newcrest Mining Limited (Australian Stock Exchange: NCM, Toronto Stock Exchange: NCM, Papua New Guinea Exchange: NCM), for a total consideration of CAD$1,400,000. According to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement, the Company retains a 2% net smelter royalty (NSR) on each property, which is subject to buy-down provisions. The McBride, Railway, and Todagin properties are contiguous and/or situated within approximately 16 kilometers of the Newcrest/Imperial Metals producing copper/gold Red Chris mine and approximately 16 kilometers east of Newmont’s (GT Gold) copper-gold Tatogga property.
