By Leia Toovey – Exclusive to Gold Investing News

The Life Cycle of a Gold Mine series educates investors about the distinct phases in successful mine development from finding and outlining a mineral reserve, through mine construction, mining, and post-mining reclamation. The focus of the series is on the operational and financial hurdles that exploration companies must overcome in order to develop a successful mine and maximize shareholder value. The series is divided into separate articles each of which will center on a particular phase of a gold mine’s life cycle.

Part I: Staking the Claim

The first step in developing a gold mine is selecting an area for prospecting. Read more…

Part II: Regional Exploration

Once an exploration company has been awarded the proper permits for a parcel of land they are interested in prospecting, the work begins. After “staking the claim” the next phase in the life cycle of a mine is the exploration phase, which is also the longest and riskiest phase. Read more…

Part III: Resource Definition and the Feasibility Study

After preliminary exploration has been completed, the next step in the life cycle of a gold mine is resource definition. At the end of this process, a feasibility study is published, and the ore deposit may be either deemed uneconomic or economic. Read more…

Part IV: Assessment and Approval

Regardless of how valuable of a resource an exploration company discovers, the resource will never be brought to market unless the company can properly assess, and present, the total environmental and socio-economic impacts of going from buried resource- to mine, to reclaimed land. Read more…

Part V: Mine Construction

Once an exploration company has obtained all of the necessary permits and approvals to develop a mine, the construction phase kicks off. Read more…

Part VI: Operating the Mine

Operating the mine is a very exciting phase in the life cycle of a gold mine. Finally, after years of hard work and millions of dollars invested, a miner can start to see some returns. Read more…

Part VII: Rehabilitation

Once the gold reserve at a mine has been exhausted, the owner of the mine must rehabilitate the site. Rehabilitation refers to the process of returning mined land to its preexisting condition or a predetermined post-mining use. Read more…