Ximen Mining has been granted the final permit required to proceed with its Kenville gold project, home to one of the first underground gold mines in British Columbia history.

On Wednesday, the company obtained the Final Mines Act permit, which is comprehensive and covers many issues, including water management and reclamation, that would need to be addressed before starting. A draft of the permit was issued in February.

“After years of working on this particular permit, the Kenville gold mine is now on track to becoming one of the greenest and environmentally-friendly gold mines in southern BC,” Christopher Anderson, CEO of Ximen Mining, stated in a news release.

“While there is still very much to do, our team’s tenacity has brought us this far, and we are ready for the next phase of milestones that will finally bring this gold mine to fruition.” he added. Design work for water management infrastructure is currently underway.

In 2019, Ximen acquired 100% of the past-producing Kenville gold mine, consisting of Crown-granted mineral claims and surface rights, along with all existing permits, infrastructure and equipment.

The project is located 8 km west of the town of Nelson in BC’s West Kootenay region. Between 1890-1954, the Kenville mine produced approximately 66,000 oz. of gold along with silver, copper, lead and zinc.

Drilling on the property between 2008 and 2012 has identified several new gold-bearing veins in widely spaced drill holes. In order to adequately define these veins and the grade continuity, Ximen decided to proceed with infill drilling from underground workings. The new permit would allow the company to access these new vein extensions.

Shares of Ximen Mining were up 6.7% by 11:55 a.m. EDT, giving the precious metals miner a market value of C$20.7 million ($15.4m).