During July 2009, Vancouver based Kent Exploration Inc. was looking to bring on stream a new US source of barytes through its Flagstaff, Washington operation. Start up was pending the posting of a reclamation bond.
The Flagstaff property, located approximately 8km west of Northport, Washington, and 16.5km south of Rossland, British Columbia, has an estimated 27,000-45,000 tonnes of ore stockpiled from previous operations which Kent intends to process, in addition to a “reported historic” 1.3m. tonne deposit of 4.2SG barytes.
The company has applied for and been granted a Mine Plan Approval (MPA) by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) allowing Kent to mine up to 100,000 tpa at Flagstaff.
The MPA is contingent upon Kent’s posting of a reclamation bond with the BLM. Graeme O’Neill, chief executive officer of Kent Exploration told IM: “We have the mine approval, we have rehabbed the road, and have an offtake agreement....