Photo by: Marathon gold
Name of the Project
Valentine gold project.
Location
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Project Owner/s
Marathon Gold.
Project Description
A feasibility study has proposed an openpit mining operation with a low initial capital cost and a high rate of return over a 13-year mine life.
The project has proven and probable reserves of 47.05-million tonnes at 1.36 g/t gold. Measured and indicated mineral resources are estimated at 56.66-million tonnes grading 1.72 g/t of gold and inferred mineral resources of 29.59-million tonnes grading 1.72 g/t gold.
Average gold production is estimated at 173 000 oz/y from 2024 to 2033, from the processing of high-grade mill feed, and at 56 000 oz/y from 2034 to 2036, from the processing of low-grade stock piles.
The project will have a mill capacity of 2.5-million tonnes a year, based on gravity leaching, expanding to four-million tonnes a day in Year 4, based on gravity-floating leaching.
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, C$600-million and internal rate of return of 31.5% at $1 500/oz gold. Payback is estimated at 1.9 years.
Capital Expenditure
Initial capital is estimated at C$305-million.
Planned Start/End Date
The mine is expected to take 22 months to complete, with the first gold pour scheduled for October 2023.
Latest Developments
Marathon has filed an amended environmental-impact statement (EIS) for the Valentine project to deal with, among other issues, the protection and monitoring of caribou.
This is the second amended EIS that Marathon has filed since starting the environmental assessment (EA) process for the project in April 2019.
The latest amendment includes a caribou protection plan, which the company developed in consultation with the wildlife division of the provincial department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.
The filing started a new 70-day round of technical and public review of the amended EIS. At the end of this period, the Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Environment and Climate Change will have a further opportunity to make a determination on the acceptability of the project.
“Successful completion of the provincial EA process this spring, and the completion of the parallel federal EA process, will allow us to commence the project’s activity-specific permitting process ahead of anticipated ground-breaking in the third quarter of this year,” president and CEO Matt Manson has said.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Ausenco Engineering Canada (feasibility study); Moose Mountain Technical Services (mining consultant); APEX Geoscience (geological consultant); Golder Associates (tailings consultant); Stantec Consulting (site water management and environmental consultant); and GEMTEC Consulting Engineers and Scientists (geotechnical consultant).
Contact Details for Project Information
Marathon Gold, tel +1 416 861 0851.