Looking across at the Relief Canyon Pad
The Relief Canyon mine is located near Lovelock, NV, approximately 110 miles northeast of Reno, NV. It consists of 965 acres and is readily accessible by modern roads. Historically, 141,000, ounces of gold were extracted from the Relief Canyon property between 1986 and 1989. The operations were then ceased due to the declining price of gold.
Firstgold began production at the Relief Canyon mine in November 2008 after arduous reclamation and permitting processes. The ore currently being processed is coming from two old heap leach pads which contain approximately 8-10 million tons of processed ore. More than 100 drill holes have been completed to assess the economic potential of reprocessing the heaps, and extracting the remaining gold values. Historic estimates indicate approximately 50,000 ounces of gold are contained in these heaps.
Additional exploration and permitting is ongoing and Firstgold anticipates mining to begin in the existing pits in early 2010.
The conveyors are stacking ore on the new pad