Sabina aims for Back River project restart in July

The Back River gold project in Nunavut. Image from Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Sabina Gold & Silver (TSX: SBB) confirmed on Friday that plans are now in place for a phased reopening of its Back River project in Nunavut, Canada.

A spring drilling program planned on the property was halted in March as a precautionary measure due to the coronavirus outbreak.

With its previously announced C$49 million financing scheduled to close on June 3, the deferred exploration drill program along with other project pre-development activities are planned to begin in July.

The company will be working at a reduced camp capacity due to recently established covid-19 safety protocols. Camp reopening is expected in early July

"Over the last two years, while markets have not been conducive to obtaining full project financing on acceptable terms, we were able to fund and complete some initiatives critical to the success of the project," Sabina president and CEO Bruce McLeod said in a press release.

"These proceeds will enable us to continue to do this and to advance the project to a state of readiness for a production decision when the time is right."

The company will be working at a reduced camp capacity due to recently established covid-19 safety protocols. Camp reopening is expected in early July.

The Back River project was acquired from Dundee Precious Metals in 2009. The property is a series of gold deposits in banded iron formation, located approximately 520 km northeast of Yellowknife, NWT.

Shares of Sabina Gold & Silver jumped 7.8% at midday Friday on the TSX. The Vancouver-based miner has a market capitalization of approximately C$572.6 million.