Victoria Gold issues new Eagle mine plan, resource estimate update
Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX) has issued an updated technical report for the Eagle gold mine in Canada’s Yukon Territory, outlining a new life of mine (LOM) plan together with an increase in mineral resource estimates.
The Eagle mine is part of Victoria’s 100% owned Dublin Gulch property in central Yukon, consisting of two pits (Eagle and Olive) that will be completed over a period of 10 years, with residual processing of stockpiled ore over an additional 1.5 years. It entered commercial production in July 2020.
The updated Eagle technical report is highlighted by an increased gold production profile, showing an average annual gold production of 202,000 ounces over the first eight years, with peak production of 219,000 ounces in 2025. Total gold production would reach 2.05 million ounces over an estimated mine life of 12 years.
“This increased production is achievable utilizing our existing crushing and conveying circuit and mining fleet,” CEO John McConnell said in a news release. “The Eagle orebody continues to reconcile extremely well with our reserve model and gold production is in line with original recovery expectations.”
The update also showed robust project economics, headlined by an after-tax net present value (at a 5% discount) of C$954 million, based on a gold price of $1,700/oz. LOM capital costs are projected to be C$292 million, while the all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is pegged at $1,114/oz.
The 2023 technical report also provided new mineral resource estimates incorporating an additional 35 drill holes that were drilled proximal to the Eagle deposit since 2019.
Resources in the measured and indicated category totalled 245 million tonnes at 0.59 g/t gold for 4.66 million gold ounces. Another 36 million tonnes at 0.63 g/t gold for 704,000 gold ounces were included in the inferred category. These represent an addition of 629,000 ounces measured and indicated and 136,000 ounces inferred over the 2019 estimates.
However, proven and probable reserves declined in terms of tonnage to 124 million tonnes at 0.65 g/t for 2.58 million contained gold ounces. This was due to depletion from mining and minor differences from cut-off grade adjustments, Victoria said. Through the end of 2022, a total of 4.35 million tonnes of additional mineralized material were mined beyond what was predicted in 2019.