Toronto-listed Generation Mining and the Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO) have signed a consultation and process agreement for the Marathon palladium/copper project, setting out the principles that will guide the parties in developing their relationship and confirming their intentions to arrive at a community benefit agreement.
The agreement focuses on establishing a mutually-beneficial relationship, engagement, participation, and social and economic opportunities throughout the life of the Marathon project, in north-western Ontario.
Generation Mining states that the agreement is an important step for the project as it continues to move forward in the environmental assessment process.
“I look forward to working with the staff of GenPGM and seeing the GenPGM mine benefiting all of the region and the company long into the future,” MNO regional councilor Tim Sinclair said in a statement issued by the company.
Gen Mining president and CEO Jamie Levy commented that the mining firm valued the relationship with the MNO and that it was pleased to have them as a partner in the palladium project.
The Marathon property covers a land package of about 22 000 ha. The 2021 feasibility study estimated that at $1 725/oz palladium, and $3.20/lb copper, Marathon’s net present value, at a 6% discount, is about C$1.07-billion with a payback of 2.3 years and an internal rate of return of 30%.
Upfront capital costs were estimated at C$665-million. The mine will produce an estimated 245 000 palladium-equivalent ounces a year over a 13-year mine life at an all-in sustaining cost of $809 a palladium-equivalent ounce.