WARWICK MOUNTAIN, N.S.
Geological mapping of the Cobequid Mountains in recent years is offering a promising glimmer of treasure contained within the rocks below.
“One thing we identified up in there is the potential for gold deposits up in the Warwick Mountain area,” said Garth DeMont, a community liaison geologist with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
An open house is planned for Saturday at the Warwick Mountain Recreation Center snowmobile club from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to discuss the mapping project and the potential for gold deposits.
Geologists who have been working on the mapping project for the past few years will be there to answer questions and speak with property owners.
“It’s quite a substantial-sized block,” DeMont said, of the lands in Warwick, which have shown indications of “the highest potential signs for gold.”
But given statistics that show only one in 10,000 mineral deposits that are worked on actually become a mine, he said, “it’s pretty slim odds when you think about it,” of the potential for striking it rich.
“That’s ultimately what we would hope, is that some mining activity would develop out of it. But we’re basically in the grass roots stage of it,” DeMont said.
He anticipates it could take five to 10 years of mineral exploration before it can be determined there is enough gold to establish a mine. If there is, then a regulatory process and an economic assessment must take place before any mining would begin.
Nonetheless, DeMont said the geography of the Warwick land is similar to Nevada in the United States, which has some of the richest gold deposits in the world.
“And we see all the same rock types, the same alterations, the same indications that there’s potential for gold mineralization,” he said.
DNR has a mineral closure on the Warwick property, which means no one else can stake a claim there.
Following the open house, the department will develop a package of data that will be made available on its website and which will be announced at a prospectors and developers conference in March.
They will then put out a request for proposals. A community engagement process would also be required.
Any company given permission for exploration will then be responsible for contacting landowners and negotiating access agreements.
