Nord Precious Metals has deployed crews and heavy equipment at the historic Castle Silver Mine site in Ontario to begin pre-production work on its tailings processing facility. This first phase includes preparing pads and improving access roads at the Miller Creek tailings pad and the nearby Castle West coarse-tailings pile, located within 400 meters of the old headframe. The goal is to install a modular gravity recovery circuit that will extract silver alongside cobalt, nickel, and other critical metals from legacy tailings across the 63 km² property.
CEO Frank Basa highlighted that the modular, low-carbon plant—constructed from pre-assembled ISO container units on crushed-rock pads—offers quick permitting and reclamation benefits. The Ontario government has invited Nord to file for an 80-day fast-track Recovery Permit under section 152.1 of the Mining Act, with submission after July 1. Operational wet commissioning will begin in Q3, with seasonal silver-dominant processing expected to commence in July 2026.
The project also includes ESG and indigenous engagement components: legacy tailings will be removed, underground stopes backfilled with benign materials, and ongoing monitoring and training roles supported locally. Leveraging its licensed Temiskaming Testing Labs, Nord aims to convert century-old tailings into near-term cash flow while addressing environmental liabilities.