https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Argonaut Gold execs blame inflation, pandemic for development cost increases for Magino Mine
Things just got a tad more expensive for Argonaut Gold at its Magino Mine project, under construction outside Dubreuilville.
The Toronto mining company announced this week that capital expenditures to build the open-pit mine have ballooned from $510 million to $800 million, and that its president-CEO, Pete Dougherty, the founder of Argonaut, is out the door.
In a webcall with mining analysts on Dec. 14, the company didn’t specify if the two events had any connection, but chalked up a third of the project’s cost overruns — about $94 million — to beyond-their-control issues, namely inflation and the impact of COVID-19.
Company management said they’ve made some changes to their original construction plans, including how they’ll power the mine. They also had to address some unforeseen, and costly, ground issues when preparing the site to build a 10,000-tonne-per-day processing plant and the tailings facility.
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