Victoria Gold Corp. [VIT-TSXV] said Tuesday May 7 that that construction at its Eagle gold mine project in the Yukon is now 90% complete. The Eagle Mine is part of the larger Dublin Gulch Project and is expected to rank as the largest hard rock gold mine in Yukon’s history.
Victoria Gold shares advanced on the news, rising 11.4% or $0.045 to 44 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 30 cents and 55 cents.
The Eagle Gold Project is located in central Yukon, 375 km north of Whitehorse, and 85 km north of Mayo. The mine is expected to produce 200,000 ounces of gold annually at an operating cost of approximately US$550 per ounce using heap leach processing methods. Full construction commenced on March 15, 2018, with completion and first gold pour scheduled for September, one month ahead of previous estimate.
A revised construction capital estimate was finalized at $442 million, the company said in a May 24, 2018 update. However, the construction capital has since risen by approximately 10% to $487 million due to additional earthworks, following unexpected geotechnical conditions.
Construction is over 90% complete with more than 1.25 million hours worked without a loss time incident.
“With construction activities on the verge of completion and operations well advanced, the Eagle Gold Mine is nearing a reality,” said Victoria Gold President and CEO John McConnell. “The mine is ahead of schedule and ready to deliver tremendous value for all Victoria stakeholders for many years to come.”
The company is currently targeting a first gold pour early in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Back in March 2018, Victoria Gold announced a $500 million financing package that the company said would enable it to continue with construction at the Eagle gold project.
Victoria said at the time is had signed agreements with Orion Mine Finance, Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. [OR-TSX, NYSE], and Caterpillar Financial Services Ltd. in relation to the financing package.
Under the agreement, Osisko Gold Royalties signed a term sheet with Victoria Gold to acquire a 5% net smelter return royalty for $98 million on the Dublin Gulch property.
Dublin Gulch hosts the Eagle Gold Project, a shovel-ready gold project which hosts 2.7 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves contained in 123 million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.67 g/t gold as outlined in a NI 43-101 compliant feasibility study.
The company said the four-layer liner system and solution piping for the sump of the heap leach pad was completed in late 2018. The event pond is fully lined and lining of Phase 1 of the heap leach pad above the sump is well advanced, which provides sufficient ore capacity through 2020 and 2021.
All major construction activities at the gold recovery plant are complete and pre-commission is approximately 65% complete.