The Niblack copper-gold-zinc-silver project is located 27 miles southwest of Ketchikan on Alaska's Prince of Wales Island, within a 6,200-acre mineral property that includes 250 acres of patented lands and six identified zones of mineralization.
The project is located near tidewater at the head of Niblack Anchorage, and is accessible by boat and float plane year-round. Site infrastructure includes 1.5 miles of road, 3,300 feet of underground development, a water treatment plant and discharge system, a dock and barge camp. Prince of Wales Island is well served by transportation infrastructure, including roads and the Alaska State Ferry system.
Niblack Project LLC has developed an early-stage commercial partnership with a Prince of Wales Island-based Alaska Native Corporation to facilitate local employment and procurement. The City of Ketchikan (population: 13,000) is also an important supply and service centre for the project.
Southeast Alaska has a long history of public and official support for responsible mineral exploration and development. As examples, Greens Creek, a small-footprint, high-grade underground silver-gold-zinc-lead massive sulphide mine, has operated successfully on southeast Alaska's Admiralty Island since 1989 and Kensington, an underground gold mine located on the east side of Lynn Canal near Juneau, received its final development permits in 2009 and began operations in 2010. It is anticipated that Niblack will have a similar production rate as the Greens Creek mine at approximately 2000 tonnes per day.
