Veris Gold has entered into toll milling agreements with Atna Resources and Klondex Mines to process ores from their nearby operations at Veris’s Jerritt Canyon mill in Elko county, Nevada. The agreements are structured such that Atna and Klondex will pay toll milling fees for the processing of their ores, and all doré produced from the ores will remain the property of the mining companies.
Veris announced its toll milling agreement with Atna on March 27, 2013. The agreement has a one-year term. Ore produced from Atna’s Pinson mine in Humboldt county, Nevada, will be delivered to the Jerritt Canyon mill, and Atna will pay Veris a toll milling fee that will be adjusted on a quarterly basis to reflect any changes to input costs associated with processing the ore.
All doré produced will remain the property of Atna throughout the process, and Veris will treat the associated toll milling fee charged to each ton as a credit to Jerritt Canyon operating costs.
James Hesketh, president and CEO of Atna Resources, said, “This agreement provides additional processing flexibility, with a smaller lot size for Pinson and an outlet for our oxide-sulphide transition ores.”
Veris announced its agreement with Klondex on April 2, 2013. Veris will process non-refractory gold ore produced from Klondex’s Fire Creek project in Lander county, Nevada, with Klondex paying Veris a toll milling fee of $148.50/st, including trucking, that will be adjusted on a quarterly basis to reflect any changes to input costs associated with processing the ore. The Klondex agreement includes an additional up-front pre-payment, to be deducted from future toll milling charges, to assist Veris in refurbishing the wet mill circuit at Jerritt Canyon.
All doré produced from Klondex ore remains the property of Klondex throughout the process, and, as with the Atna agreement, Veris will treat the associated toll milling fee as a credit to Jerritt Canyon operating costs. Veris expects to begin processing ore from Fire Creek in the third quarter of 2013.
“This second toll milling agreement adds to our third-party ore processing revenue stream and provides an excellent additional source of ore as the Klondex team ramps up their Fire Creek mining operations into 2014,” Reichert said.
Veris also reports that it has begun production at its Starvation Canyon underground gold mine on its Jerritt Canyon property. The mine will ramp up to 600 st/d averaging 0.24 oz/st by the end June.
