The referral on whether to issue an environmental assessment certificate for the project starts the clock for the ministers to issue their decision within 45 days. The EAO is coordinating the joint review of the application with the federally mandated Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. The federal review timeline is currently at day 225 of 365. 

IDM, with a company valuation of C$31.43 million, had in November last year submitted the application to build an underground gold mine at Red Mountain, including mill and tailings infrastructure next to the Bitter Creek valley. The application also includes water treatment facilities, an access road from Highway 37 just north of the town of Stewart, and power line interconnection from the BC Hydro grid.

"Our vision for BC's next high-grade bulk underground gold mine is another step closer. We believe that the proposed low-footprint Red Mountain operation will have obvious benefits to my hometown of Stewart, to Nisga'a citizens and to residents throughout north-western BC," said IDM CEO and president Robert McLeod in a statement Wednesday.

"We look forward to continuing to increase resources and making new discoveries at Red Mountain, as well as completing the updated feasibility study incorporating value engineering improvements from the 2017 study and the increased measured and indicated resources from the June resource estimate."

With the provincial environmental assessment now nearing completion and the federal environmental assessment now advancing forward in what IDM characterises as a "straightforward and predictable manner", the company expects receiving federal approval in late 2018, or early in the New Year.

Red Mountain hosts a compliant resource estimate of 2.77 million tonnes in the combined measured and indicated categories averaging 7.91 grams per tonne gold and 22.75gpt silver, for 704,600oz of contained gold and 2.03 million ounces of silver.