Artemis Gold Inc. says its Blackwater Mine in central British Columbia remains fully funded and currently on schedule for first gold pour by the end of the year.
At June 30, 2024 overall construction was approximately 87 per cent complete complete, and approximately C$650 million of the capital budget of C$730 to C$750 million had been spent.
“Through to June 30, 2024, we continued to advance construction and progress our operational readiness plans in-line with our expected timelines,” said Steven Dean, Chairman and CEO of Artemis Gold, in a news relese. “The development of gold mines is complex and requires multiple skill sets and disciplines including risk management. This month we were challenged again by wildfires in the area of the mine and I would like to recognize the Blackwater team’s efforts to safely and orderly demobilize staff upon receipt of the recent wildfire evacuation order. Last week’s response to the lifting of the order and commencement of an expedient return and ramp-up to full-scale construction was a credit to our team.”
Construction Update
Construction of the water management pond, excavation of the cutoff trench through Mine Creek in the tailings storage facility, and the earthworks and lining of the central water management pond were completed. Work on the tailings storage facility continues to progress well with increased productivity and material movements through the quarter.
Process Plant
At the end of June 2024, the Sedgman EPC contract work on the processing plant was approximately 90 per cent complete overall, with engineering, design and procurement materially complete.
Equipment installation was a key focus area for Q2 as well as installation of structural steel, conveyors, platework, pipework, and electrical infrastructure. Installation of the primary crusher commenced, and utilities were installed across the crushing circuit, allowing for pre-commissioning activities on the crushing circuit to commence. Mill installation advanced, while the cyclone, gravity concentrators and the sulphur burner were installed. Cladding of the reagents building was completed, and the mill building will soon be ready to be clad following final equipment installation. Hydro testing of the process and raw water tanks was completed, and tank infrastructure completed, with tank top installations well advanced.
Early pre-commissioning activities in the crushing area of the process facility is underway.
Transmission Line
During Q2 2024 the transmission line continued to advance on schedule. The line is being built in two parts, north and south of the Nechako River. The length of the northern section is approximately 50km and the southern section is approximately 80km.
In the North section, 98 per cent of foundations are complete, 97 per cent of pole structures are installed, 95 per cent of structural frames are complete and 25 per cent of the conductor was installed.
In the South section, 91 per cent of foundations are complete, 84 per cent of pole structures are installed, 69 per cent of structural frames are complete and 10 per cent of the conductor was installed.
Upgrades to the BC Hydro Glenannan substation were completed, while commissioning planning with BC Hydro is advancing as planned.
The main 25 kV electrical substation to power infrastructure at Blackwater Mine was installed, and pole installation and conductor stringing across the asset is well progressed.
Heavy Equipment
During Q2 2024, construction and commissioning of the initial phase of the mining fleet was completed, with two 400-tonne hydraulic backhoe excavators, nine 240-tonne rigid frame haul trucks, and two large mining front-end loaders now fully assembled. The fleet to support initial operations is now complete. Additional units are on-site and are currently being assembled, with the intent to add these to the fleet as operations ramp up.
Personnel
The Company maintained its workforce of approximately 350 employees in Q2 2024 and the ratios of the workforce have remained consistent, approximately:
- 20 per cent of the team are women;
- 30 per cent identify as Indigenous;
- 45 per cent are from the local region, and
- 80 per cent are B.C. residents.
The total Blackwater Mine workforce, including staff and contractors employed at the mine site and along the transmission line, surpassed 800 at the end of June.
Operational Readiness
Recruitment of personnel for the Blackwater Mine operations commenced earlier this year and the full operations management team is now in place.
Key personnel have been mobilized to initiate pre-commissioning activities in the crushing area.
Operations preparation and integration is now underway.
Wildfire Response
On July 22, 2024, the Company announced that it responded to a wildfire evacuation order issued across a region that included the Blackwater Mine. The company proactively removed all non-essential staff and contractors from site and took the necessary precautions to safeguard the asset, with essential staff remaining. On July 26, the Company announced the evacuation order had been lifted, and began an expedient, staged return of employees and contractors to site. The mine site was not impacted by any wildfires.
Funding
During Q2 2024 the Company completed the third and final draw of C$80 million under the project loan facility, bringing the total drawn to C$380 million, along with approximately C$12 million in cumulative capitalized interest.
At June 30, 2024, Artemis Gold had estimated remaining Phase 1 capital expenditures of approximately C$100 million. At the same date, the committed sources of funding totalled C$164 million, comprising:
- cash and cash equivalents of C$111 million;
- approximately C$13 million of capitalized interest remaining available, and
- a cost overrun facility of C$40 million.
In addition, the company had 20.5 million warrants outstanding at June 30, 2024, which are exercisable at C$1.08 per warrant before August 27, 2024, for anticipated proceeds of C$22 million.
“Looking ahead to Q3 2024, we expect to complete construction of the new operations camp and decommission the original exploration camp,” said Artemis Gold President and COO Jeremy Langford. “We will commence the pre-production mining works and expect to begin commissioning the process facility and the water management pond. By the end of Q3, we anticipate the transmission line will be nearing completion and we remain on track for first gold pour in Q4 2024.”