Aquila to switch gears on Back Forty project
TORONTO – A Canadian mining company will switch gears on it’s Back Forty Mining project in Menominee County.
The Company will not proceed with its appeal of the January 2021 decision by an Administrative Law Judge to deny the prior issuance of the Wetlands Permit. The Feasibility Study team is focused on a design seeking to avoid direct impacts to wetlands. Even if a Wetlands Permit is required, Aquila expects that it will be able to secure a re-issued permit from EGLE based on the fieldwork already completed under the existing Wetlands Permit and progress on the groundwater modeling that would be used to support any estimates of indirect wetland impacts.
The Company has also determined not to proceed with the contested case of the amended Mining Permit. As the amended Mining Permit only contemplates the open pit portion of the Project, there is no benefit to continuing to dedicate resources to a permit under which the Company does not plan to proceed. Following the completion of the Feasibility Study, the Company will submit an application for a Mining Permit that reflects the optimized design, including the underground mine plan. Should a Wetlands Permit and Dam Safety Permit be required, the Company will submit applications for these permits concurrent with the Mining Permit application. A key benefit of this approach is that it should facilitate a consolidated review process and, compared to a sequential process, compress the timeline to permit issuances.
The Company is maintaining its Air Permit and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit in good standing and will proceed with timely renewals of these permits, as required.
ABOUT AQUILA
Aquila Resources Inc. (TSX: AQA, OTCQB: AQARF) is a development‐stage company focused on high grade polymetallic projects in the Upper Midwest, USA. Aquila’s experienced management team is currently advancing pre-construction activities for its flagship 100%‐owned gold and zinc‐rich Back Forty Project in Michigan.
The Back Forty Project is a volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit with open pit and underground potential located along the mineral‐rich Penokean Volcanic Belt in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Back Forty contains approximately 1.1 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion pounds of zinc in the Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource classifications, with additional exploration upside. An optimized Feasibility Study for the Project is underway.
Aquila has two other exploration projects: Reef Gold Project located in Marathon County, Wisconsin and the Bend Project located in Taylor County, Wisconsin. Reef is a gold-copper property and Bend is a volcanogenic massive sulfide occurrence containing copper and gold. Additional disclosure of Aquila’s financial statements, technical reports, material change reports, news releases and other information can be obtained at www.aquilaresources.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.