Name of the Project
Island Gold mine Phase 3 expansion.

Location
The project is located in Ontario, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Alamos Gold.

Project Description
An expansion study on the project has increased the Island Gold mine life to 16 years, double that of the current eight-year mineral reserve life. This is based on a mineable mineral resource of 9.6-million tonnes grading 10.45 g/t gold, containing 3.1-million ounces of gold.

The project will increase production from the Island Gold mine from 1 200 t/d to

2 000 t/d, after the completion of the shaft, through various infrastructure investments. These include the installation of a shaft and paste plant, as well as the expansion of the mill and tailings facility.

A 5-m-diameter concrete-lined shaft will be built with a steel headframe. The shaft will house two 12 t skips in dedicated compartments for ore and waste movement, and a double-deck service cage to transport personnel and materials.

The shaft will be sunk to an initial depth of 1 373 m. The hoisting plant is designed for an ultimate depth of 2 000 m providing flexibility to accommodate future exploration success. At the initial depth of 1 373 m, the shaft has a capacity of 4 500 t/d, more than sufficient to accommodate the peak mining rates of 3 300 t/d (ore and waste).

Following the completion of the shaft, the operation will transition from trucking ore and waste to skipping ore and waste to surface through the new shaft infrastructure, driving production higher and costs significantly lower.

Longhole open stoping will continue to be used as the primary mining method.

The expanded mill will include upgrades and expansions for the following major process operations: a new vibratory grizzly feeder, a new primary crusher, a new fine-ore stockpile and conveyors, an additional primary ball mill, a primary ball mill screen for both ball mill circuits, converting existing thickener to high-rate thickener, two additional leach tanks, a new elution plant and kiln, as well as tailings pumps.

Average production is estimated at 236 000 oz/y starting in 2025 upon completion of the shaft.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $1.02-billion and an internal rate of return of 17% using a base case gold price assumption of $1 450/oz.

Capital Expenditure
The project will require capital expenditure of $514-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Shaft construction is expected to be completed in 2025.

Latest Developments
Alamo plans on focusing on progressing permitting and detailed engineering on the shaft and associated infrastructure in the second half of 2020. This includes the power supply upgrade and planning for the procurement of long-lead time items.

All the shaft expansion permitting requirements are expected to be completed within an 18- to 24-month timeframe.

To accommodate the work being completed on Phase III in 2020, capital spending guidance has increased by $20-million at Island Gold.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Hatch (overall infrastructure design/engineering), Cementation (sinking engineering and design), Airfinders (ventilation engineering), Golder (paste fill plant and UDS design, water management and tails dam and environmental baseline monitoring and permitting support), Halyard (mill expansion), SRK (mine simulation consultant) and DMC Estimating (third-party master estimate review).

Contact Details for Project Information
Alamos Gold, tel +1 416 368 9932 or email info@alamosgold.com.