The Canadian mining industry and European investment community come together once again on May 22, 2019 for The Northern Miner’s third annual Canadian Mining Symposium at Canada House in London, United Kingdom. The following Canada-listed companies are developing mineral projects in Canada and abroad, and will be featured sponsors and presenters at the event.
Alamos Gold
Toronto-based miner Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI; NYSE: AGI) is on track to produce 500,000 oz. gold in 2019 from its four mines in North America, at all-in sustaining costs of $920 to $960 per oz. gold.
Alamos’ Canadian assets — Young-Davidson and Island Gold — will account for 65% of its gold production this year, and hold 63% of the company’s 9.3 million oz. gold in reserves.
Young-Davidson is a bulk-tonnage, underground gold mine in northern Ontario with a 13-year reserve life. Alamos is carrying out a lower-mine expansion — expected in the first half of 2020 — that should cut operating costs and boost free cash flow.
At the high-grade underground Island Gold mine, also in Ontario, the company just achieved a 1,100-tonne-per-day mining and milling rate. For 2019, Alamos expects Island Gold will yield 135,000 to 145,000 oz. gold, which would represent an annual increase of more than 30%. Alamos also has four drill rigs active at the property, which will focus on resource expansion.
Cardinal Resources
Cardinal Resources (TSX: CDV) is developing its Bolgatanga gold asset in Ghana, which is near the border with Burkina Faso in Ghana’s northeast.
Bolgatanga hosts the Namdini gold project, with a feasibility study expected ahead of schedule, in the second quarter of 2019.
A drill crew at work at Cardinal Resources’ Namdini gold deposit in northern Ghana, 40 km south of the Burkina Faso border. Credit: Cardinal Resources.
Gold resources at Namdini contain 7 million oz. gold in 193 million tonnes grading 1.1 grams gold per tonne, with 93% of the resource in the indicated category. Cardinal has also outlined 129.6 million tonnes of “probable ore in reserves” grading 1.14 grams gold per tonne, for 4.76 million oz. gold in the reserve category.
Namdini’s prefeasibility study considered a 14-year open-pit operation costing $414 million to build, which would produce an average of 294,000 oz. gold per year and mine 9.5 million tonnes per year.
The company says it has received strong interest from potential project financiers.
Eastmain Resources
Junior gold explorer Eastmain Resources (TSX: ER) is focused on its 1,090 sq. km land package in Quebec’s James Bay region.
The company’s flagship asset is the Clearwater project, which hosts the Eau Claire gold deposit and its 4.29 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 6.18 grams gold per tonne for 853,000 contained oz. gold. Eau Claire also has 2.38 million inferred tonnes grading 6.53 grams gold per tonne for another 500,000 contained oz. gold.
An outcrop with visible veining and “piano key” breccia at the proposed pit location Eastmain Resources’ Eau Claire gold project in Quebec’s James Bay region. Credit: Eastmain Resources.
A 2018 preliminary economic assessment of Eau Claire envisioned a 12-year open-pit and underground mining plan. The mine would produce an average 86,100 oz. gold per year over the first 10 years of production, with all-in sustaining cash costs of $766 per oz. gold. Construction costs were pegged at $175 million and life-of-mine sustaining capital was an estimated $108 million.
This year Eastmain has completed a heli-borne electromagnetic survey at Clearwater as well as a 20-hole winter drilling campaign at the Percival target, 14 km east of Eau Claire.
Japan Gold
Crew members setting up one of Japan Gold’s three diamond drill rigs in Japan. Credit: Japan Gold.
With a portfolio of 17 projects in Japan, totalling more than 710 sq. km and 40 historic gold mines, explorer Japan Gold (TSXV: JG) recently added a fourth drill rig to its 2019 exploration program.
In May, drilling is scheduled to begin on the northern island of Hokkaido at the Ikutahara project, where the company will probe the Kitano-o prospect with 3,000 metres of drilling. The drills will target veins within 3 km of underground workings at the historic mine, which produced almost 100,000 oz. gold from ore grading 5.9 grams gold per tonne.
In June the company expects drills to turn on the southern island of Kyushu at the company’s Ohra-Takamine project, where the company wants to complete a 2,100-metre, first-phase drill program to test 3.5 km of strike that hosts the historic Ohra, Takamine and Urushi gold mines. The holes will test for extensions and vein shoots adjacent to and along strike of existing shallow mine workings.
Monarch Gold
Monarch Gold (TSX: MQR) is working towards developing its advanced Wasamac gold project in Quebec’s portion of the famed Abitibi gold camp.
The company has outlined more than 21 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves at Wasamac grading 2.56 grams gold per tonne, for 1.77 million contained oz. gold.
In late 2018, a positive feasibility study outlined an 11-year mine life, delivering 142,000 oz. gold per year at all-in-sustaining costs of $826 per oz. gold. Monarch would need $426 million to build the operation, which would include a mill and tailing facility.
A drill at Monarch Gold’s McKenzie Break gold project in Quebec. Credit: Monarch Gold.
Monarch owns a suite of assets in the region, including the Camflo gold mill, which processes ore from nearby operations, and can handle 1,600 tonnes per day.
The company is also drilling its permitted Croinor gold property, which hosts a permitted, past-producing mine, and its McKenzie Break gold property, which sits 20 km from its 750-tonne-per-day Beacon gold mill.
Murchison Minerals
Location map of Murchison Minerals’ Brabant-McKenzie zinc-copper project, 175 km northeast of La Ronge in northern Saskatchewan. Credit: Murchison Minerals.
Zinc, copper, lead and silver are the targets for Murchison Minerals (TSV: MUR) at its wholly owned Brabant-McKenzie volcanogenic-massive-sulphide (VMS) project in Saskatchewan, 175 km northeast of La Ronge.
The project hosts a metamorphosed, sedimentary-hosted VMS deposit containing 2.1 million indicated tonnes grading 7.08% zinc, 0.69% copper, 0.49% lead and 39.6 grams silver per tonne. The inferred category holds another 7.6 million tonnes of 4.45% zinc, 0.57% copper, 0.19 lead and 18.4 grams silver.
In January 2019, Murchison completed an electromagnetic survey VTEM Max and magnetic airborne survey, which covers half of the 324 sq. km property. The survey has found 15 priority drill targets, with just 25% of the survey data reviewed in detail as of late April. Anomaly selection is based on the deposit’s signature and VMS characteristics.
In late May, the company will begin its mid-year field program Brabant-McKenzie, which will consist of target-specific and regional prospecting and mapping.
Northern Shield Resources
Northern Shield Resources (TSXV: NRN) is focused on the Shot Rock gold project in Nova Scotia, where it says it has found two large-scale, low-sulphidation epithermal gold systems since optioning the property from a local prospector in December 2017.
The discoveries were made via surface sampling, which turned up textures and mineralogy consistent with the systems that point to mineral potential at depth.
The company continues to collect promising samples at Shot Rock Highway Zone, and carried out an airborne magnetic survey that revealed features coinciding with where most mineralized quartz vein samples have been found.
Northern Shield is spending $2 million over four years to earn an 80% stake in the asset, and plans to drill Shot Rock later this year.
Exploring Northern Shield’s Huckleberry project in the Labrador Trough, 100 km north of Schefferville, Quebec. Credit: Northern Shield.
The company is also advancing the Grand Pabos gold project in Quebec, two iron-oxide-copper-gold ore projects in Nova Scotia (Five Islands, Parrsboro), and three nickel-copper-PGM assets in Quebec’s Labrador Trough region (Huckleberry, Sequoi, Idefix).
Orefinders
Gold-focused junior Orefinders Resources (TSXV: ORX) is advancing a hub-and-spoke model to maximize synergies with its suite of gold assets in Ontario’s Kirkland Lake gold camp.
The company’s McGarry, Omega (31% owned) and Mirado projects have National Instrument 43-101 compliant resources of more than 800,000 oz. gold between them.
Orefinder’s McGarry gold property in Ontario’s portion of the Abitibi. Credit: Orefinders.
The company is exploring the potential for building a central mill at McGarry, which has infrastructure from past production, including a tailings facility.
Orefinders’ mid-2019 field program will include mapping, trenching and generating drill targets on its properties.
The junior is also developing the Knight gold property, which is a consolidation of five properties in Ontario’s Shining Tree area, southwest of Kirkland Lake. Knight has significant infrastructure from historic activities, including more than 1,300 km of drifts.
Knight’s previous owner extracted promising gold intercepts, including 66 metres of 18.2 grams gold per tonne and 83 metres of 13.3 grams gold from the Minto mine area on the property.
Revival Gold
A drill at Revival Gold’s Beartrack gold project in Idaho. Credit: Revival Gold.
Revival Gold (TSXV: RVG) is set to develop the past-producing Beartrack gold project in Lemhi County, Idaho. Beartrack produced 600,000 oz. gold from 1994 to 2000, before closing because of weak gold prices.
In October 2018, Revival tabled a compliant gold resource for Beartrack that tallied 33.4 million indicated tonnes at 1.13 grams gold per tonne for 1.2 million contained oz. gold, and an inferred resource of 16.9 million tonnes of 1.41 grams gold for 765,000 contained oz. gold.
In April, the company raised US$5 million via a brokered private placement, which will pay for its ongoing exploration at Beartrack and the nearby Arnett property over the next 15 months.
The company is focused on growing near-surface oxide gold resources, so it can leverage heap-leach infrastructure at Beartrack.
This year Revival will carry out metallurgical test work at Beartrack, and carry out 1,000 metres of step-out drilling. At Arnett the company is permitting 53 drill pad locations and aims to drill 4,000 metres of resource expansion and definition holes.
Southern Silver Exploration
Southern Silver Exploration (TSXV: SSV) is a precious metal exploration and development company with a focus in north-central Mexico and the southern United States.
The company’s flagship asset is the Cerro las Minitas silver-lead-zinc exploration project in the heart of Mexico’s Faja de Plata, which hosts world-class mineral deposits such as Penasquito, San Martin, Naica, Los Gatos and Pitarrilla.
Looking northeast at Cerro las Minitas, 70 km northeast of the city of Durango, Mexico, where Southern Silver Exploration is looking for silver, lead and zinc. Photo by Lesley Stokes.
The most recent Cerro las Minitas resource estimate tallied 10.1 million indicated tonnes of 102 grams silver per tonne, 0.1 gram gold per tonne, 0.15% copper, 1.4% lead and 3.6% zinc. Inferred resources totalled 8.7 million tonnes of 74 grams silver per tonne, 0.04 gram gold per tonne, 0.15% copper, 0.7% lead and 4.5% zinc.
Southern Silver’s property portfolio also includes the Oro porphyry copper-gold project in New Mexico, United States. The Oro property consists of patented land, state leases and Bureau of Land Management mineral claims that cover a highly prospective quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone, interpreted to overlie an unexposed porphyry centre and a distal sediment-hosted, oxide-gold target.
Star Diamond
Star Diamond is developing its wholly owned Star-Orion South diamond project in central Saskatchewan, 60 km east of the city of Prince Albert.
Star’s updated preliminary economic assessment on the project from 2018 estimates that 66 million carats of diamonds could be recovered over a 38-year project life. After taxes, the net present value at a 7% discount rate is $2 billion, and the internal rate of return is 19%.
High value diamonds from Star Diamond’s Star-Orion project in Saskatchewan. Credit: Star Diamond
In 2017, Star signed a deal with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada, giving it the right to earn a 60% stake in its Fort à la Corne concessions, which host the Star-Orion South project.
In April, the company announced that Star and RTEC completed an HQ core drilling and sonic program, consisting of 3 core drill holes at Star and 23 holes at Orion South.
The campaign intersected almost 4,000 metres of kimberlite from 7,000 metres of core drilling, which helped document the internal stratigraphy of the kimberlites ahead of an upcoming bulk sample.
Sun Metals
Sun Metals (TSXV: SUNM) is a Vancouver-based junior concentrating on the Stardust polymetallic project in central British Columbia.
The project, formerly known as Lustdust, has seen exploration since the 1940s, and a 2017 resource estimate outlined a 985,000-tonne indicated resource grading 1.34% copper, 0.62% zinc, 1.59 grams gold per tonne and 36.8 grams silver per tonne.
Sun Metals CEO Steve Robertson (left) with technical advisor Peter Megaw at the Stardust polymetallic project in British Columbia. Credit: Sun Metals.
Another inferred resource contains 1,985,000 tonnes averaging 1.24% copper, 0.14% zinc, 1.72 grams gold per tonne gold and 30.5 grams silver per tonne.
This year, Sun Metals focused on drill hole 421, which was collared in 2018, returning 29 metres of 3.35% copper, 4.29 grams gold per tonne, 65.7 grams silver per tonne and 0.06% zinc.
In April, Sun Metals announced it acquired Lorraine Copper, giving it full ownership of Stardust.
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