Management and shareholders of the former Rubicon Minerals want to put a tarnished history firmly in the rear view mirror.
The Toronto mine developer announced July 7 that it has completed its corporate name change to Battle North Gold, a moniker that management believes is better reflective of its new culture of "perseverance, determination, tenacity and resilience."
Shareholders backed the name change at the company's June 22 annual general meeting.
"This is the dawn of a new era for Battle North Gold, its shareholders and stakeholders," said company CEO George Ogilvie in a statement.
"We believe the new name provides a fresh look at the company's potential to create value. Fueled by our perseverance and determination, we have significantly de-risked and advanced our shovel-ready Bateman Gold Project in Red Lake."
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The rechristened company begins trading on the TSX on July 9 under the ticker symbol BNAU.
As well, the Phoenix Gold Project, the key mining asset on the company's 28,000-hectare property, has been renamed the Bateman Gold Project.
In 2015, the previous management team fast-tracked the mine into production without doing the due diligence in fully understanding the area's complex geology. More than 300 miners and contractors were put of work when operations were halted.
After the company emerged from creditor protection and restructuring, Oglivie, the former Kirkland Lake Gold CEO, was brought in to conduct a proper resource estimate and redevelop the project.
"We are now just months away from the completion of the feasibility study for the project, said Ogilvie, "the results of which, we believe, are highly anticipated and closely watched by our investors and the many that follow the company. This will be the maiden feasibility study - which will include proven and probable mineral reserve estimates - for the Bateman Gold Project and is a significant milestone warranting the re-branding of the company."
More than 8,000 metres of drilling is in the books this year with the goal of converting inferred mineral resources at the F2 Gold Zone into the measured and indicated category.
Other infill drilling is underway at the McFinley and Pen Zones, situated with 550 metres of the project's infrastructure, which includes a production shaft and a permitting milling facility. A regional step-out exploration program is coming up the near future.
"All of our current exploration programs are designed with the intent to add incremental mill feed to our operational 1,800-tonne-per-day, state-of-the-art mill facility," said Ogilvie. "We expect to release the details of our exploration results in the coming weeks."
Besides the Red Lake project, Battle North also owns a large gold exploration land package on the Long Canyon gold trend near the Nevada-Utah border.
