Artemis Gold (TSX-V: ARTG) announced the successful completion of its first gold and silver pour at the Blackwater open-pit mine in British Columbia on Wednesday.
The company targets commercial production in this year’s second quarter. Once operational, it’s expected to produce 500,000 oz gold-equivalent annually for the first 10 years, generating $500 million in free cash flow per year at an all-in sustaining cost of US$712 per ounce.
In December, Artemis postponed first gold to January due to delays in final commissioning of the wet plant. Issues with the control circuit configuration and a lack of vendor specialists during the holidays caused the delay, it said.
The mine should produce 26,000 gold-equivalent oz. in the first quarter and 230,000 gold-equivalent oz. this year, BMO Capital Markets said.
“Yesterday’s first gold pour at Blackwater is a positive, if expected, milestone after holiday startup delays,” mining analyst Andrew Mikitchook said in a note. “Artemis stands out as a new, sizeable mine with the potential to produce about 500,000 oz per year in a top jurisdiction.”
Shares of Artemis Gold closed 4.8% higher on Thursday at $15.75 apiece for a market capitalization of $3.5 billion.
BC’s first gold mine since 2017
The Blackwater mine, 160 km southwest of Prince George and 450 km northeast of Vancouver, is accessible via major highways and service roads. It will be the province’s first new gold mine since Newcrest’s (now Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM)) Brucejack in 2017.
“While still in commissioning, Blackwater’s crushing circuit has sustained operations above its nameplate throughput,” Artemis chief operating officer Jeremy Langford said in a release. “The milling circuit is also performing as expected during commissioning and ramp-up.”
Artemis forecasts stage one throughput at 6 million tonnes a year with 93% gold recovery, according to a 2021 feasibility study.
The company holds 328 mineral claims covering 1,487 sq. km, including the Capoose, Auro, Key, Parlane, and RJK claim blocks. The government controls surface rights over the project area.
Near surface
The Blackwater project includes the construction, operation, and closure of an open-pit gold and silver mine with ore processing facilities. Artemis is using a combined gravity circuit and whole ore leach for gold and silver recovery. The company will initially process high-grade, near-surface ore, stockpiling lower-grade material for later processing.
The mine received its provincial permit in March last year. A positive decision statement from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency was issued in April 2019, followed by an Environmental Assessment certificate later that year.
In 2019, Artemis signed a trilateral project participation agreement with Lhoosk’uz Dené Nation and Ulkatcho First Nation, whose traditional territories overlap the mine site. In May 2021, Artemis signed an impact benefits agreement with the Nazko Nation. Discussions with the Carrier Sekani First Nations, whose territories include proposed infrastructure corridors, are ongoing.
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