“These outcomes reveal that the Gibson space of Gray Fox has good grading mineralization over mineable widths in shut proximity to current underground infrastructure,” the corporate stated in a launch. “Gray Fox is at the moment a greater than 1-million-oz. gold deposit and is the subsequent undertaking in our development pipeline after the present growth of our Inventory undertaking.
McEwen plans to develop Gray Fox and Inventory within the 70-sq.-km Fox complicated 70 km from Timmins alongside 18 km of the Destor-Porcupine fault. The complicated consists of the past-producing Black Fox and the energetic Froome mine. Black Fox produced 950,000 oz. throughout 1997 to 2001 and from 2009 to 2021. Froome, lower than 1 km west of Black Fox, began in 2021 and produced 44,400 oz. final yr.
Shares in McEwen Mining gained 3% to C$11.75 apiece on Wednesday afternoon in Toronto, valuing the corporate at C$609 million. They’ve traded in a 52-week vary of C$8.05 to C$17.08.
Ramp system
This yr’s finest drilling at Gray Fox, 5 km southeast of Black Fox, recognized mineralization lower than 300 metres deep and 50 to 100 metres round a ramp system, which might provide early entry to near-term manufacturing, the corporate stated.
Gray Fox is a part of the Fox complicated’s proposed growth centered on the sequential underground growth and mining of the Froome, Inventory West and Fuller deposits. The gold mineralization at Gibson is characterised by a number of stacked and sub-parallel vein units starting lower than 10 metres deep and increasing beneath 600 metres, McEwen stated.
“These vein units are typically planar and have good strike and vertical depth parts,” the corporate stated. “Attributable to their sturdy continuity and good grades with mineable widths, these vein units are engaging areas for both underground growth or open-pit mining strategies.”
Subsequent yr, McEwen intends to drill the Gray Fox exploration horizon northwest of its useful resource, plus a number of different targets, together with one which grew to become the Froome mine. The useful resource incorporates the Gibson, Whiskey Jack, 147 and Gray Fox South zones.
Black Fox horizon
“Geological interpretations have created an thrilling new exploration goal, one that means that high-grade Black Fox horizon-style mineralization might exist beneath and adjoining to the Gray Fox deposit and will prolong 3 km alongside development in the direction of the Black Fox mine,” the corporate stated.
The Fox complicated’s growth might produce 72,000 oz. yearly for 12 years at all-in sustaining prices of $1,225 per oz., in accordance with a 2022 preliminary financial evaluation. It has an after-tax web current worth of $175 million at a 5% low cost price and assumes a gold worth of $1,650 per ounce.
The undertaking envisions upgrading the mill at Inventory to extend its capability to 2,400 tonnes per day and course of materials from the a number of deposits.
Inventory mine
The previous Inventory mine produced 137,000 oz. of gold from an underground operation between 1989 and 2005. Exploration since 2018 at Inventory has outlined deposits east and west of the mine inside a 3-km mineralized development alongside the Destor-Porcupine fault, McEwen says.
McEwen bought Black Fox, the Inventory mine, mill and tailings facility, Gray Fox and Froome in 2017 from Primero Mining for $35 million. The acquisition included $150 million in tax swimming pools the corporate might use to shelter future revenue.
Primero purchased the property from Brigus Gold in 2014 for greater than C$300 million and assumed liabilities of C$140 million, in accordance with McEwen. Primero then spent one other C$120 million on capital spending and exploration.