US Gold finalizes operating permit for Wyoming's 1st modern gold mine

US Gold Corp. has received final regulatory approval from Wyoming regulators for its CK gold and copper mining project, paving the way to start development after optimization studies are finished, the company said Nov. 18.

Receipt of the air quality permit from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality satisfies the final of three conditions associated with the company's recently granted surface mining permit.

US Gold executives have highlighted that with a turnaround of about two years, the permitting process for the mine has been atypically speedy for a US mining project. US development times are the second-longest in the world and only three mines have come online since 2002.

Once operating, the project will be the first modern gold mine to open in Wyoming.

"The CK Gold project with its geographically advantageous location, now fully permitted, is poised to be able to leverage rising commodity prices," Luke Norman, executive chairman of US Gold, said in a statement.

"This is such a rarity in today's global mining context where a lack of funding for exploration and onerous permitting hurdles have hampered the supply of new projects to satisfy increasing demand," Norman said.