Steppe Gold nears production in Mongolia

Since Steppe Gold (TSXV: STGO) purchased Altan Tsaagan Ovoo (ATO) from Centerra Gold (TSX: CG) for $19.8 million in January 2017, the junior has made steady progress de-risking and building the heap leach, gold-silver project in eastern Mongolia. Seven months after the acquisition last year, the company teed-up a US$23 million gold and silver stream agreement with Triple Flag Mining Financing, and then raised US$25 million in an initial public offering in May 2018 (12.5 million shares at $2.00 per share). The company says it’s on track to finish construction before January 2019, start leaching ore in April 2019, and pour first gold before the end of the second quarter. In a recent market update, Steppe said ATO’s crushing circuit is fully operational and the first ore is being crushed to specification. About 30,000 tonnes of mineralized material has been mined from the ATO 1 deposit and stacked on the run-of-mine pad. Continue reading at The Northern Miner.