Northern Iron Corp. announced it has a permit in hand to begin dewatering the former Griffith open-pit mine in northwestern Ontario.
The Vancouver miner announced Nov. 17 that the Ministry of Environment issued a permit to allow dewatering of the north pit of the former iron ore mine.
“The issuance of the dewatering permit for the North Pit is important news as it enables our drill crews to drill from the upper benches of the pit and our consulting team to determine both the amount and quality of the ore remaining in the Griffith pit,” said company president and CEO Basil Botha in a statement. “The pumps and pipes to complete the program have already been purchased. It is estimated that pumping will begin at the end of April 2015.”
The mine was once owned by Stelco and supplied iron ore pellets and sponge iron to the Hamilton and Nanticoke steel works from 1968 to 1986.
Besides the Griffith mine, Northern has four other iron magnetite properties in the Red Lake district. The company wants to produce hot briquetted iron as part of its proposed operation and is promoting it as alternative to scrap steel used in the steel making process.
