Argonaut Gold has completed a key permitting milestone for its Magino gold project in Ontario, which included consultation with Indigenous communities and members of the public. <\/p>\n
According to the company, the completed Schedule 2 amendment of the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations is an important authorization for the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a permitting perspective, the completion of the Schedule 2 process significantly de-risks the Magino project and makes it much more attractive to potential joint-venture partners and project financing lenders,\u201d Pete Dougherty, the company\u2019s president and CEO, said in a release.<\/p>\n
The company expects to make a decision on the next steps for Magino in the second half of the year, with the necessary project approvals and development financing options available at that time.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a permitting perspective, the completion of the Schedule 2 process significantly de-risks the Magino project and makes it much more attractive to potential joint-venture partners”<\/p>\n Pete Dougherty, Argonaut CEO<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Deep drilling has been ongoing at the site with assays pending \u2013 these will be released throughout the remainder of this year.<\/p>\n Over the past few months, Argonaut has released drill results from the 22-sq.-km site, which suggest the presence of mineralization below and adjacent to the reserve pit limits.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, we are excited by the ongoing deep drilling exploration program, where we are consistently hitting high-grade intercepts, which are not included in our current mineral reserve or mineral resource estimates,\u201d Dougherty concluded.<\/p>\n Magino lies 40 km northeast of Wawa in Ontario, with reserves of 59 million tonnes grading 1.13 g\/t gold for a total of 2.1 million oz., at a cut-off grade of 0.41 g\/t gold. <\/p>\n A 2017 feasibility study for the project outlined a 10,000 t\/d open pit operation with a 17-year mine life, producing an average of 150,000 oz. of gold in the first five years of operation. <\/p>\n With a pre-production capital cost of $293 million, the project net present value estimate, at a 5% discount rate, came in at $288 million.<\/p>\n The Magino property includes a past-producing underground mine.<\/p>\n\n