Dave Webb: Bringing the High-grade Mon Gold Mine in the Yellowknife Gold Belt Back Into Production

Our company is focused on bring the high-grade Mon Gold Mine in the Yellowknife Gold Belt back into production, to capitalize on producing gold soon.

Tell us about yourself?

I have an engineering degree and two post-graduate geology degrees (M.Sc., Ph.D.), specializing in gold with over 40 years of experience. I love that I can have an impact and generate wealth.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Don’t eat that oyster! It smells funny. But really, understanding the regulatory framework is critical, and don’t underestimate the education required here, both from you and to you.

What problem does your business solve?

We can execute on all the Plan B exploration ventures. The ones that don’t reach that critical mass (1 to 4 million ounces of gold) to be sold to a producer. We can deal with these profitably.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

Our business is regulated on many fronts, but the technical side must now fit into one of three or four boxes. There are many projects that don’t fit, and we will generate profits from these.

What is your magic sauce?

Experience. We have many decades of technical and operational experience, both getting through the regulatory morass as well the technical issues. We have centuries of experience in very few individuals, all committed to our goals.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

We plan to commence mining at 100 tpd in 2022, and commence milling at this rate in 2023. The revenues we anticipate are substantial, primarily driven by our grades at >30 gpt gold in a belt with 14 million ounces of past production at grades between 16 and 30 gpt. From here we expand within the belt and then beyond.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Regulators have regulatory experience with no operational experience. This applies on the permitting side as well as the market side of things. For example questions about cyanide use in our gravity circuit (none used), elevated trace metals identified in our baseline sampling (natural background is very elevated in a gold camp), etc give us pause.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

We are conventional miners who will drill and blast rock to get at gold-bearing quartz veins that will be ground into a fine sand, the gold recovered, and the residual sand dewatered and initially stacked in piles. Later the sand will be placed back underground for ground support.

We will use modern technology in surveying, data management, visualizations, as well as off-grid living (satellite communications, water and sewage treatment facilities, wifi securities systems) as well as full mechanic, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic support systems. Exploration for more involves all geophysical, geochemical, and geological systems.