Red Mountain, the proposed mine project being acquired by Ascot Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:AOT), has been given the green light by the federal government.
The small gold project near Stewart, B.C. has been granted an environmental certificate by the Ministry of Environment. It earlier received a provincial environmental certificate in October.
In a written decision January 14, federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna writes that the project is “not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.”
She also notes that consultations with First Nations were adequate: “I am satisfied that the consultation process undertaken is consistent with the honour of the Crown and, with the conditions I have established, that the concerns and interests of Indigenous groups are appropriately accommodated for the purpose of issuing this decision statement.”
Those indigenous groups include the Nisga’a and Tsetsaut/Skii km Lax Ha, both of which are supportive of the mining industry.
Red Mountain project is being acquired by Ascot through the acquisition of IDM Mining Ltd. (TSX-V:IDM) for $45 million through a friendly takeover.
Ascot has gold properties in the same region, and plans to consolidate it them into a larger gold mining district. Ascot has been working to restart the historic Premier gold mine near Stewart
The Red Mountain project, which has an estimated capital cost to develop of $135 million, is small but considered a high-grade deposit.
The consolidation of the two companies, their properties and management teams will result in “operational and development synergies,” the companies said in a joint news release.