The Max Mine near Trout Lake is one step closer to being acquired by Vancouver-based Discovery Ventures Inc. Discovery recently received conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange in respect to a letter of agreement that would shift the assets of FortyTwo Metals Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roca Mines Inc., to Discovery.
Discovery Ventures plan to use the Max Mine and mill complex to process minerals from their Willa Project which is located eight kilometres south of Silverton, B.C. The 5,328 km Willa Project is located 135 kilometres from the Max mill by highway.
According to the Discovery Ventures website, around $18 million has been spent on the project to date, but Discovery is not the first to be interested in the site. The Willa property has been explored on and off by a number of companies working in joint ventures since 1893, with most of the current underground workings completed in 1985. Although a preliminary mine design and schedule was completed in 2005, metal prices at the time were too low to warrant starting up production. A 2012 technical report revealed significant levels of gold, as well as some copper and silver.
The Max Mine was formerly a producing molybdenum mine in operation from 2007 until November 2011 when low metal prices forced its closure.