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Blackwater gold project, Canada – update

Aerial view of the Blackwater gold project

Photo by Artemis Gold

12th May 2023

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Name of the Project
Blackwater gold project.

Location
Central British Columbia, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Artemis Gold.

Project Description
A feasibility study has shown several positive changes in the approach to the planned development of the Blackwater project, compared with the prefeasibility study (PFS) completed in 2020. 

Phase 1 throughput has been expanded by 9%, from 5.5-million tonnes a year in the PFS to six-million tonnes a year in the feasibility study, with a larger crushing circuit providing greater operational throughput upside potential in the early years.

The accelerated Phase 2 involves an expansion to 12-million tonnes a year, ramping up to nine-million tonnes a year in Year 5, with full Phase 2 throughput expansion achieved in Year 6.

The increased production in years 1 to 5 supports a 29% increase in average gold production over the first five years of operation to 321 000 oz/y.

The Phase 2 expansion has been simplified and is to be achieved with only minor modifications to the existing Phase 1 crushing, stockpile and ball mill feed system. The second ball mill will operate in series with the Phase 1 mill. The rest of the plant circuits will be duplicated (gravity concentration, leaching, adsorption, elution and cyanide destruction) or expanded. Minor upgrades will be undertaken on some infrastructure to accommodate the increased throughput.

Phase 3 involves expansion to 20-million tonnes a year, ramping up to 15-million tonnes a year in Year 10, with full Phase 3 expansion achieved in Year 11.

The increased production in years 1 to 10 results in a 5% increase in the average gold production, to 351 000 oz/y of gold.

The Phase 3 expansion will require a new process line, from primary crushing to cyanide destruction, although a carbon elution circuit will not be needed, as the Phase 1 and 2 units will have sufficient capacity with the lower ore-grades in Phase 3.  
 
Mining operations are proposed to cease in Year 17, with stockpiled ore rehandled and processed through the process plant in years 18 to 22. The decrease in mine life, from 23 years in the 2020 PFS to 22 years in the feasibility study, is a direct result of the increased throughput rate and production during the first ten years of the mine life in the feasibility study.  

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
In the base case, the project has an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of C$2.15-billion and an internal rate of return of 32.1%, with a payback of 2.3 years. This compares with an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of C$2.25-billion and an internal rate of return of 35%, with a payback of 2.2 years in the PFS.

Capital Expenditure
The feasibility study outlines an initial capital cost estimate of C$645-million for Phase 1, expansion capital of C$347-million for Phase 2, and expansion capital of C$374-million for Phase 3.

Planned Start/End Date
Construction is expected to start in the second quarter of 2022, putting the project  on track to develop into a new tier-one gold operation in the first quarter of 2024.

Latest Developments
Artemis Gold has placed a C$134-million order with Finning (Canada), a division of Finning International, for the primary and ancillary mining fleet required for the initial Phase 1 of operations of its Blackwater mine.

The primary load and haul fleet covered by the purchase order comprises Cat 6040 hydraulic excavators, a Cat 6060 hydraulic excavator and a fleet of Cat 793NG 250 t haul trucks. The fleet will provide the load and haul capacity for the initial years of operations, and will be expanded as needed.

Supporting the primary mining fleet will be an ancillary fleet comprising Cat 992 front-end loaders, Cat 785 haul trucks, Cat D10 dozers, Cat D9 dozers and 18M graders. The 992 front-end loaders and Cat 785 haul trucks will be used in a support loading role, including ore rehandle on the run-of-mine pad and from the low-grade stockpile, while providing flexibility for the operation for events such as tailings storage facility raises.

Further, Artemis has elected to configure the Cat 6040 hydraulic excavators in a backhoe configuration to provide optimal ore selectivity.

Equipment deliveries should start late in the fourth quarter and continue throughout the first half of 2024, in preparation for the prestrip-mining phase.

Initial deliveries will include the Cat 6040 hydraulic excavators and the Cat 793NG haul trucks. The delivery of the ancillary fleet will be arranged around the primary mining fleet to ensure schedule commitments are met, and workforce and craneage requirements are optimised throughout the assembly period.

The entire fleet is expected be shovel ready during the second half of 2024 to meet Artemis’ operational-readiness objectives.

As part of the envisaged future fleet expansion, the company has the option to buy zero-emission haul trucks under development for shipments beginning in 2029. The transition to a zero-emission haulage fleet will substantially reduce the mine’s carbon footprint. That, combined with the mine’s electrified processing facility and infrastructure, will create the potential to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Ausenco Engineering Canada, with the support of Knight Piésold, Moose Mountain Technical, Allnorth Consultants, Lorax Environmental Services, ERM Consultants and JAT MetConsult (feasibility study).

Contact Details for Project Information
Artemis Gold, tel +1 604 558 1107 or email info@artemisgoldinc.com.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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