Robbert Borst has retired as COO of TSX-listed Marathon Gold, following the release earlier this week of  the prefeasibility study (PFS) results of its Valentine gold project, in central Newfoundland.

Borst, who was responsible for the successful completion of the PFS, will retire at the end of the month.

His retirement was planned to occur following delivery of the PFS, and he would provide ongoing consulting services to the company as the project transitioned to a full feasibility study and, ultimately, mine construction, the company said on Thursday.

Marathon also announced the appointment of James Powell as VP for regulatory and government affairs. Powell joined Marathon in 2019 as director of environment and stakeholder engagement. In his new expanded role, Powell will be tasked with overseeing the company’s key environmental assessment and permitting activities relating to the Valentine gold project.

“I would like to thank Bob Borst for his service to Marathon over the last three years. In his role as COO, Bob has been responsible for two important economic and engineering studies, our 2018 preliminary economic assessment and our recent 2020 PFS, both of which have been important milestones for the project’s development and both of which were completed with dedication and professionalism. We wish him well in his retirement,” said president and CEO Matt Manson.

“Jamie Powell’s new, more senior role reflects the company’s focus on the key critical path activities for the Valentine Project, which are its environmental assessment and regulatory approval. Jamie, who is a professional engineer, will be responsible for all government and regulatory affairs for the company both federally and in Newfoundland and Labrador, and our relationships with stakeholders, local communities and Indigenous peoples.”

The Valentine PFS indicated that the mine will deliver average gold production of 175 000 oz/y in the first nine years from the processing of high-grade mill feed, and 54 000 oz/y in the final three years from the processing of low-grade stockpile.

The study calculated an after-tax internal rate of return of 36% and a net present value (NPV), using a 5% discount, of C$472-million, based on a gold price of $1 350/oz gold, increasing to 49% and an NPV of C$671-million if using a gold price of $1 550/oz.

The initial capital expenditure (capex) required for the Valentine project is estimated at C$272-million, yielding an after-tax NPV/capex ratio of 1.74. The project has a payback period of 1.8 years.

Meanwhile, Marathon said that its exploration camp remained closed, with a three-person crew providing maintenance, cleaning and site security services.

The company intends to reopen the camp to complete its 2020 exploration drill programme, as well as site-specific engineering and environmental studies, once proper return-to-work protocols and a safe working environment can be established.

At March 14, when the camp was closed, a total of 12 486 m of drilling had been completed from a 2020 total budgeted amount of 44 000 m of exploration drilling and 3 000 m of site condemnation drilling. Exploration drilling completed includes 24 holes for 5 007 m in the high priority ‘Berry Zone’ area and extending north-east towards the Frozen Ear pond.

Marathon reported the results of the first eight of these drill holes on March 2 and expects to release assay results from the remaining 16 drill holes shortly.

In addition to the Berry Zone drilling, by March 14, the company had completed 21 holes for 2 937 m of condemnation drilling in the proposed Marathon Pit waste rock pile area and 33 holes for 4 542 m in Footwall Zone 1 located south of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone in the area of the proposed tailings management facility.