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Abitibi Greenstone Belt

[Abitibi and James Bay Regions] Quebec’s golden pockets – by Virginia Heffernan (CIM Magazine – December 15, 2016)

http://magazine.cim.org/

Exploration spending is down across the board, but budgets for gold exploration have suffered less than other metals. And in two particular regions of Quebec – the established Abitibi gold belt and the emerging James Bay region – exploration drills are busily biting the rock.

The latest map of exploration drilling in Canada resembles a nighttime satellite image of the country: vast expanses of monochrome punctuated by clusters of brightness. If the clusters represented urban areas, the Abitibi greenstone belt straddling the Quebec-Ontario border would be a bustling metropolis and the James Bay region a small but growing municipality.

Despite a global slowdown in exploration spending that S&P Global Market Intelligence expects to continue into 2017, pockets of Quebec could be on the cusp of an upswing. The province’s share of Canadian drilling activity averaged about 30 per cent in the first nine months of 2016, reaching almost 40 per cent in August, according to analysis by S&P Global.

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Osisko Mining expects winnings from Windfall – by Trish Saywell (Northern Miner – May 23, 2017)

http://www.northernminer.com/

Osisko Mining’s (TSX: OSK) 400,000-metre drill program at its Windfall project in Quebec should lead to a resource update before year-end, a feasibility study and permitting in 2018, and construction in 2019, president and CEO John Burzynski announced at The Northern Miner’s Canadian Mining Symposium in London.

“We could pour gold as early as 2020,” Burzynski said during a presentation at the one-day mining event at Canada House on May 9. “It’s an aggressive time frame … we’ve got an aggressive program, with lots of drills and more drills coming.”

Twenty-two drill rigs are turning at the project and Osisko will have 25 rigs by the start of June, in what is easily the largest drill program on any one deposit in Canada, and arguably the largest anywhere in the world.

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Eldorado to acquire Integra as gold miners play it safe – by Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – May 15, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

Eldorado Gold Corp agreed on Monday to purchase fellow Canadian mining company Integra Gold Corp for C$590 million ($432.4 million) in the latest move by gold miners to opt for less risky geopolitical regions in a lackluster gold market.

Canada’s stable legal and taxation system, clear way of getting mining permits and government support for the industry are drawing cards for miners as bullion stays rangebound between $1,100 and $1,300 an ounce, analysts and mining executives said.

The Eldorado cash-and-stock deal values Integra at C$1.21 a share, a 52 percent premium to Friday’s closing price. The deal sent Integra’s shares soaring 39 percent to C$1.12 on the TSX Venture Exchange on Monday. Eldorado’s stock dropped 7.8 percent to C$4.61.

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Algonquins say pact with mining company vital for community’s future – by Christopher Curtis (Montreal Gazette – May 2, 2017)

http://montrealgazette.com/

For as far back as he can remember, Chief David Kistabish says there were mines on Algonquin territory. Workers came and went, companies plundered gold from the earth and, in the very worst cases, dumped their waste into the rivers that had sustained life on the territory for millennia. At no point, throughout this process, did they consult with the people whose livelihood still depended on the land, Kistabish says.

“Elders in our community tell us that, historically, the gold mine up river dumped its tailings into the water,” said Kistabish, Chief of the Abitibiwinni First Nation — a community about 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal. “They spoke about seeing beavers and other animal corpses floating along the river. It poisoned an important food source for us. That’s what mining means to them.”

Despite the history of distrust between his community and the mining industry, Kistabish announced an agreement Tuesday with RNC Minerals (formerly called Royal Nickel Corporation). Under the deal, the Algonquins of Abitibiwinni will oversee a study about the impact a nickel mine could have on their hunting and fishing grounds.

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Quebec govt approves Canadian Malartic openpit expansion – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – April 20, 2017)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VAANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The Quebec provincial government, under the leadership of Quebec Liberal Party premier Philippe Couillard, has approved the proposed $200-million expansion of the Canadian Malartic mine, owned and operated in a 50:50 joint venture by Agnico Eagle Mines and Yamana Gold. The expansion will see the diversion of Highway 117 at a cost of $53-million.

Preliminary work will start in the coming weeks after obtaining the required authorisations, including the relocation of public services. Deforestation and the construction of a temporary bridge over Highway 117 are among the first steps.

The highway diversion will allow the mine to access the Barnat zone, which has softer ore and could allow for higher throughputs. The 203-million tonnes, on a 100% basis, of reported reserves as at December 31, include the Barnat zone and could allow the mine to continue production for a further six years to 2027.

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[Integra Gold] A PDAC deal in the making? – by Richard Roberts (Mining Journal – February 28, 2017)

http://www.mining-journal.com/

Confidence in the exploration potential around and under a seemingly robust looking Lamaque gold project, and in further potential cost cuts, could be the trigger for a more imminent move on circa-C$380 million takeover target Integra Gold (TSXV: ICG).

The Quebec-focussed gold developer’s share price is not exactly on fire at present, reaching C87c earlier this month and currently at 79c. It was trading at 52c back in December when the sector took a pre-Christmas break. Integra has since bounced up like others and reaction to this week’s updated Lamaque preliminary economic assessment (PEA) could strengthen ahead of a further resource “update” that takes into account 105km of drilling last year.

Multi-national gold miner Eldorado Corp bought 15% of Integra at C28c/share back in August, 2015. It has interests in Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Brazil, but is missing a decent gold asset in its backyard.

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[Gowest Gold] Work progressing on Timmins ‘next new mine’ – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – February 4, 2017)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Work is progressing on the Gowest Gold property north of Timmins thanks in part to an influx of new cash from Pandion Mine Finance LP, a New York based investment firm.

Gowest Gold revealed in a news release this week that Pandion has delivered U.S. $5.6-million as part of a $17.6-million prepaid gold purchase deal with PGB Timmins Holdings, an investment vehicle owned by Pandion.

“In a nutshell, we received funding from a group out of New York to begin the advanced exploration on the Bradshaw Deposit,” Gowest president and CEO Greg Romain told The Daily Press on Friday.

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Detour Gold Corp shares spike as company boosts outlook and puts mine on hold – by Sunny Freeman (Financial Post – February 1, 2017)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Detour Gold Corp.’s stock got a double digit boost Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected production guidance for 2017 and a plan to delay development at one of its mines that will conserve cash.

Shares in the company, which operates the Detour Mine in northeastern Ontario, jumped 13 per cent to $17.80 apiece Tuesday morning on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Detour announced 2016 gold production of 537,765 ounces and all-in sustaining costs — the industry standard — of $1,005 per ounce sold.

The company also said it reduced its debt by $142 million and ended the year with about $129 million on the balance sheet.For 2017, it projected higher gold production — between 550,000 and 600,000 an ounce, with all-in sustaining costs coming in slightly higher than in 2016 at between $1,025 and $1,125 per ounce.

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Quebec suspends Copper One claims – by Staff (Mining Journal – January 31, 2017)

http://www.mining-journal.com/

A legal stoush is brewing since the government of Quebec last week suspended Copper One’s (CN:CUO) Rivière Doré claims in the Lac Barrière area near Val-d’Or.

Quebec’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MERN) issued a statement last week announcing it would suspend Copper One’s claims, prompting the company to “pursue all its legal rights”.

The company said it was “very surprised” by the timing of events, having received MERN’s draft notice of suspension on January 20, granting 15 days to comment. However, MERN announced the official suspension on January 26.

Copper One president and CEO Scott Moore said it appeared MERN’s action was due to a press conference held by members of the Algonquins of Barrière Lake (ABL) denouncing Quebec’s Mining Act as illegal and unconstitutional.

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#DisruptMining competition dangles another karat in front of staid gold mining industry – by Rick Spence (Financial Post – January 16, 2017)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Back in the day, big businesses and small businesses rarely interacted. What could a small business have or know that could possibly interest multi-national know-it-alls?

Money, distribution and influence were the assets that mattered then. But today the key currency is innovation. Smaller existing companies know they must either become masters of technology and shifting markets, or they’ll become a statistic. So now we see more of them grasping for innovation expertise by partnering with startups, sponsoring incubators, and even holding hackathons. They need innovation partners with one foot in the future.

Case in point: #DisruptMining, an innovation competition designed to bring solutions to the hard-pressed mining industry. The desire for change comes from Vancouver-based Goldcorp, the world’s fourth-largest gold producer. But the catalyst is Integra Gold, a junior explorer in Vancouver.

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NEWS RELEASE: Integra Gold and Goldcorp Team with IBM, Microsoft, Accenture and Cisco for #DisruptMining

Disrupt Mining 2017 from Integra Gold Corp on Vimeo.

Integra Gold Corp. (TSX-V: ICG, OTCQX: ICGQF) (“Integra” or the “Company”) and Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: G,NYSE: GG) are pleased to announce they have teamed with four of the world’s largest technology companies to explore potential applications of disruptive technologies in the mining sector.

#DisruptMining is a marquee event during the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (“PDAC”) conference that will showcase disruptive and exponential technologies with the potential to revolutionize the future of mining, from exploration and discovery to production and automation to financing, marketing and corporate social responsibility. Goldcorp has committed $1 million for a proof of concept at one of Goldcorp’s mines or investment in the winning technologies.

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[Sage Gold] Mine near Matheson to start production next year – by Alan S. Hale (Timmins Daily Press – November 24, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

BLACK RIVER-MATHESON – A new gold mining project in the Matheson area will be able to begin production next year after it managed to clear one of the last major hurdles keeping the mine from going forward.

Sage Gold has inked a deal with Primero Mining that will allow them to send ore from their Clavos Mine to the Black Fox-Stock Mill located just 10 kilometres away. Finding a mill to process their ore was one of the final steps required to secure financing to reopen Clavos, which is a preexisting mine that has been inactive for years.

With the processing deal in place, and $11.5 million dollars of financing secured, First Nations consultations completed, and all the geological surveying done, Sage vice president Bill Love said the company can finally begin the work of getting Clavos ready to begin an expected seven years of gold production.

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Kirkland Lake rejects alternative Gold Fields, Silver Standard bids valued at C$1.44bn – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – November 12, 2016)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian miner Kirkland Lake Gold has rebuffed several alternative transactions, including three joint unsolicited offers by South Africa-based Gold Fields and Vancouver-based Silver Standard Resources, valued at up to C$1.44-billion.

In response to media rumours and a request on Friday by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organisation of Canada, Kirkland Lake issued a statement identifying the suitors and provided details of the sweetened offers, reaffirming that the revised proposal was not financially superior to the company’s C$1-billion all-scrip deal with Newmarket Gold, announced on September 29.

Kirkland Lake acknowledged that it recently received a sweetened revised acquisition proposal from Silver Standard Resources worth C$1.44-billion payable in cash and Silver Standard shares. The latest offer represented a premium of about 50% to Kirkland Lake’s market capitalisation Friday.

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BNN Interviews Duncan Middlemiss, President and CEO Wesdome Gold Mines (August 30, 2016)

http://www.bnn.ca/ New gold discovery raises shares of Wesdome Gold Shares of Wesdome Gold Mines bounced as the company announced that its Quebec gold mine revealed spectacular drilling results. Duncan Middlemiss, president and CEO of Wesdome Gold Mines joins BNN to talk about what he plans to do next.

UPDATE 1-Glencore plans to sell option in Falco’s Horne gold project-sources – by Freya Berry and Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – June 16, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

Glencore is planning to sell its option in a gold mine owned by Falco Resources, two sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday, as the mining group and commodities trader presses ahead with asset sales.

London-listed Glencore has appointed BofA Merrill Lynch to sell the 65 percent option in the Horne 5 gold project in Quebec, the sources said, and potential buyers have been contacted.

Falco has calculated that the undeveloped Horne 5 deposit could have a net present value (NPV) of about $667 million, assuming a gold price of $1,250 an ounce and certain currency exchange conditions, according to its website. Spot gold was up 1 percent at $1,303.91 an ounce at 1148 GMT on Thursday.

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