Marathon Gold Corporation (“Marathon” or the “Company”;
TSX: MOZ) is pleased to provide an update on project
execution planning at the Valentine Gold Project located in central
Newfoundland (the “Project”).
Marathon announces that is has signed a Letter
of Intent with SNC-Lavalin to complete detailed engineering for the
Project’s mill and major facilities, and develop related equipment
and construction packages. SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated
professional services and project management company with offices
around the world that has particular experience in the engineering
and delivery of mineral processing projects. Detailed engineering
for the Project’s Tailings Management Facility continues under
Golder Associates Ltd., Stantec Consulting Ltd. will complete the
site water management design, and GEMTEC Consulting Engineers and
Scientists Limited will continue to be responsible for geotechnical
design.
Marathon further announces the appointment of
Progesys Inc. to partner with Marathon in the development of an
integrated construction management team. Progesys, a leading
industrial and mining project consultancy, will provide project
management, facilities construction, and project control services.
Marathon personnel will assume responsibility for civils
construction, contracts and procurement, camp services and the
site’s health, safety and environmental compliance. The
Progesys-Marathon construction team will continue through to the
operational readiness and commissioning phases of the Project until
delivery to a Marathon operating team. Staffing of Marathon’s
project development team based in Grand Falls-Windsor in central
Newfoundland is already well advanced. Marathon’s senior leadership
team, led by Tim Williams, COO and Paolo Toscano, VP Projects, will
have overall responsibility for project delivery.
Matt Manson, Marathon’s President and CEO,
commented: “The development strategy we are presenting for the
Valentine Gold Project brings together best-in-class engineering
expertise with a “hands-on” construction approach that is designed
to achieve the most efficient and flexible project delivery
possible in today’s construction environment. Contracting with
vendors and service providers will be with Marathon directly,
rather than an EPC agent, and ultimate responsibility for the
Project’s overall schedule, budget, and quality of build will rest
with Marathon’s own personnel, not a third-party. This is an
approach already taken by each of our senior team in the successful
delivery of previous major capital projects. It provides the best
way to capture the opportunities, and mitigate the challenges, that
arise in every capital project and allows for better site
coordination, initiative on potential cost and schedule
efficiencies and, ultimately, better project delivery and ramp up.
This strategy also allows us to draw upon the deep pool of
construction expertise within the province of Newfoundland and
Labrador, and the extraordinarily high interest we are seeing in
the Project from experienced Newfoundlanders, many currently
working elsewhere in Canada in the resource sector, and central
Newfoundland contractors.”
Update on Project Schedule and Early
Works Planning
The Project remains subject to the successful
completion of an Environmental Assessment (“EA”) by the Impact
Assessment Agency of Canada (“IAAC”). On May 26, 2022, Marathon
reported that a draft EA Report had been issued by IAAC, to be
available for 30 days for public review and comment. At the
conclusion of this period, the Minister of Environment and Climate
Change Canada (the “Minister”) will be in a position to make a
Decision Statement on the acceptability of the Project for
development. A positive Decision Statement will mark the completion
of the federal EA. A parallel provincial EA concluded successfully
on March 17, 2022, with approval of the Project by the Cabinet of
the NL Government.
Since the completion of the provincial EA
process, application for site-specific permits for activities
pertaining to provincial jurisdiction, including the issuance of
the Project’s Mining Lease, have been ongoing. Marathon anticipates
completion of the federal EA process and permitting sufficiently
advanced to allow site early works to commence in the third quarter
of this year.
Site early works will include:
- Upgrading of the Project’s access road and bridges;
- Tree cutting and grubbing;
- Pad development;
- Construction of a 120 bed temporary construction camp;
- Installation of communications infrastructure; and
- Pre-stripping at the Leprechaun Deposit to provide construction
materials.
Installation of the Project’s main 420 bed
accommodation camp, which was purchased in 2021, is expected to
commence before the end of the year, along with temporary workshops
and warehousing. Once these early works have been achieved,
principal site mobilization for the construction of the mill, major
facilities, and the tailings management facility will commence.
Full site mobilization will be subject to a construction decision
by the Board of Directors following the receipt of all regulatory
approvals.
Update on Mineral Resource Estimate,
Mine Plan and Technical Report
Marathon anticipates completion of an updated
Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) shortly. The MRE will incorporate
up to 100,000 metres of drilling at the Berry Deposit and the 2021
Reverse Circulation drilling completed at the Marathon and
Leprechaun Deposits. In addition, the new MRE will draw upon
updated geological models for each deposit, updated mining and
processing cost estimates, and current gold price and exchange rate
assumptions.
Following the MRE work, Marathon will complete a
new NI 43-101 technical report for the Project, which will
constitute an updated Feasibility Study (the “Updated FS”). The
Updated FS will reflect the updated MRE and an updated production
schedule and mine plan. Marathon will also re-assess the optimum
mining pit size for each deposit in the light of a sustained higher
gold price environment since the pits were first designed in 2020
and updated operating costs. No changes are expected to the
processing and facilities design, infrastructure, mining
methodology or tailings deposition strategy. The capital cost
estimate and development timeline contained within the Updated FS
will constitute the control budget and schedule to be utilized for
the project’s subsequent development.
The lead consultant on the Updated FS will be
Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., who also completed the Project’s
2020 Pre-Feasibility Study and 2021 Feasibility Study. The updated
MRE will be prepared by John T. Boyd Company and the updated mine
plan and Mineral Reserve Estimate will be prepared by Moose
Mountain Technical Services, as previously.
The Updated FS is expected to be completed by
the fourth quarter of the year.
Qualified Persons
Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature
in this news release has been approved by Mr. Tim Williams,
FAusIMM, Chief Operating Officer of Marathon, Mr. Paolo Toscano,
P.Eng. (Ont.), Vice President, Projects for Marathon, Mr. James
Powell, P.Eng. (NL), Vice President, Regulatory and Government
Affairs for Marathon, and Mr. David Ross, P.Geo. (Ont), Director of
Mineral Resources for Marathon Gold Corporation. Mr. Williams, Mr.
Toscano, Mr. Powell and Mr. Ross are qualified persons under
National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101.
About Marathon
Marathon (TSX:MOZ) is a Toronto based gold
company advancing its 100%-owned Valentine Gold Project located in
the central region of Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the top
mining jurisdictions in the world. The Project comprises a
series of five mineralized deposits along a 20-kilometre system. An
April 2021 Feasibility Study outlined an open pit mining and
conventional milling operation over a thirteen-year mine life with
a 31.5% after-tax rate of return. The Project has estimated Proven
Mineral Reserves of 1.40 Moz (29.68 Mt at 1.46 g/t) and Probable
Mineral Reserves of 0.65 Moz (17.38 Mt at 1.17 g/t). Total Measured
Mineral Resources (inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) comprise 1.92
Moz (32.59 Mt at 1.83 g/t) with Indicated Mineral Resources
(inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) of 1.22 Moz (24.07 Mt at 1.57
g/t). Additional Inferred Mineral Resources are 1.64 Moz (29.59 Mt
at 1.72 g/t Au). Please see Marathon’s Annual Information Form for
the year ended December 31, 2021 and other filings made with
Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at
www.sedar.com for further details and assumptions relating to the
Valentine Gold Project.
For more information, please
contact:
Amanda MalloughSenior Associate, Investor RelationsTel: 416
855-8202amallough@marathon-gold.com |
Matt MansonPresident & CEOmmanson@marathon-gold.com |
Julie RobertsonCFOjrobertson@marathon-gold.com |
To find out more information on Marathon Gold
Corporation and the Valentine Gold Project, please visit
www.marathon-gold.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
Certain information contained in this news
release, constitutes forward-looking information within the meaning
of Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). All
statements in this news release, other than statements of
historical fact, which address events, results, outcomes or
developments that Marathon expects to occur are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that are
predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or
conditions, or include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”,
“plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, “considers”, “intends”,
“targets”, or negative versions thereof and other similar
expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may”, “will”,
“should”, “would” and “could”. We provide forward-looking
statements for the purpose of conveying information about our
current expectations and plans relating to the future, and readers
are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other
purposes. More particularly and without restriction, this news
release contains forward-looking statements and information about
the FS and the results therefrom (including IRR, NPV5%, Capex, FCF,
AISC and other financial metrics), the realization of mineral
reserve and mineral resource estimates, the future financial or
operating performance of the Company and the Project, capital and
operating costs, the ability of the Company to obtain all
government approvals, permits and third-party consents in
connection with the Company’s exploration, development and
operating activities, the potential impact of COVID-19 on the
Company, the Company’s ability to successfully advance the Project
and anticipated benefits thereof, economic analyses for the
Valentine Gold Project, processing and recovery estimates and
strategies, future exploration and mine plans, objectives and
expectations and corporate planning of Marathon, future
environmental impact statements and the timetable for completion
and content thereof and statements as to management's expectations
with respect to, among other things, the matters and activities
contemplated in this news release.
Forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions and accordingly,
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such statements. You are hence cautioned
not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In
respect of the forward-looking statements concerning the
interpretation of exploration results and the impact on the
Project’s mineral resource estimate, the Company has provided such
statements in reliance on certain assumptions it believes are
reasonable at this time, including assumptions as to the continuity
of mineralization between drill holes. A mineral resource that is
classified as “inferred” or “indicated” has a great amount of
uncertainty as to its existence and economic and legal feasibility.
It cannot be assumed that any or part of an “indicated mineral
resource” or “inferred mineral resource” will ever be upgraded to a
higher category of mineral resource. Investors are cautioned not to
assume that all or any part of mineral deposits in these categories
will ever be converted into proven and probable mineral
reserves.
By its nature, this information is subject to
inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific
and which give rise to the possibility that expectations,
forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove
to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that
objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved.
Factors that could cause future results or events to differ
materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating
to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and
continuity of mineral deposits and conclusions of economic
evaluations; uncertainty as to estimation of mineral resources;
inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with
respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral
resources); the potential for delays or changes in plans in
exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, or the
completion of feasibility studies due to changes in logistical,
technical or other factors; the possibility that future
exploration, development, construction or mining results will not
be consistent with the Company’s expectations; risks related to the
ability of the current exploration program to identify and expand
mineral resources; risks relating to possible variations in grade,
planned mining dilution and ore loss, or recovery rates and changes
in project parameters as plans continue to be refined;
operational mining and development risks, including risks related
to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes (including work
stoppages and strikes) or other unanticipated difficulties with or
interruptions in exploration and development; risks related to the
inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the
potential for unexpected costs and expenses; risks related to
commodity and power prices, foreign exchange rate fluctuations and
changes in interest rates; the uncertainty of profitability based
upon the cyclical nature of the mining industry; risks related to
failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on
acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental or other
stakeholder approvals or in the completion of development or
construction activities; risks related to environmental regulation
and liability, government regulation and permitting; risks relating
to the Company’s ability to attract and retain skilled staff; risks
relating to the timing of the receipt of regulatory and
governmental approvals for continued operations and future
development projects; political and regulatory risks associated
with mining and exploration; risks relating to the potential
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company and the mining
industry; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in
the financial markets; and other risks described in Marathon’s
documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities,
including the Annual Information Form for the year ended December
31, 2021.
You can find further information with respect to
these and other risks in Marathon’s Annual Information Form for the
year ended December 31, 2021 and other filings made with Canadian
securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com. Other
than as specifically required by law, Marathon undertakes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect
events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is
made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether
as a result of new information, future events or results
otherwise.
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