Taranis Resources’ BC bulk permitting tussle a provincial exploration industry boon

Henry Lazenby | September 14, 2021 | 9:17 am Exploration Canada Copper Lead Silver Zinc

Taranis Exploration’s B.C. bulk permitting tussle a provincial exploration industry boon

John Gardiner and son Thomas (and their two Dalmatians Calamity and Katie, at a test adit was carved out by historical miners at Thor. Credit: Taranis Resources.

The recent receipt of an Environmental Management Act (EMA) permit allowing explorer Taranis Resources (TSXV: TRO; US-OTC: TNREF) to undertake a bulk sample at its Thor polymetallic project in British Columbia is a bitter-sweet victory, president and CEO John Gardiner tells The Northern Miner.

The August issued permit follows the July issuance by the Energy, Mines, and Low-Carbon Innovation (EMLI) ministry of a Mines Act permit approving the 10,000-tonne bulk sample plan submitted initially by Taranis in 2018.

A bulk sample is a valuable and indispensable exploration-level tool – and in many cases, it is required to assess deposits for their geological and economic viability

The Mines Act permit is the principal authorization required for Taranis to execute bulk sampling activities. The permit has a duration of five years, and Taranis has already paid a portion of the reclamation bond to EMLI to commence site stability investigations this summer.

Similarly, the EMA permit concludes the permitting phase for the bulk sample. But to get it, the company had to jump through regulatory hoops that led nowhere.

According to Gardiner, a bulk sample is a valuable and indispensable exploration-level tool – and in many cases, it is required to assess deposits for their geological and economic viability.

He says the B.C. government made sweeping changes to the Mining Act following the 2014 Mt Polley disaster.