Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX.V-VIT) (“Victoria” or the “Company”) is
excited to announce a new Technical Report, prepared to a
Feasibility Study level, for the Eagle Gold Mine. This release
reflects Canadian currency unless noted otherwise.
- Reserves increase from 2.7 Million to 3.3 Million ozs
Au
- Annual production increases from 200,000 ozs to 220,000
ozs Au
- Cash Cost1 per Au ounce: US$577
- All-in Sustaining Cost (“AISC”)2 per Au ounce:
US$774
- Post tax Net Present Value @ 5% discount = $1,034
million1. Cash Cost include: mining, processing and
general & administrative costs.2. AISC include: Cash Costs plus
refining, royalties, sustaining capital, reclamation, corporate and
sustaining exploration costs.3. See Non-IFRS Measures disclosure at
the end of this press release.
“The results of this updated Technical Report
demonstrate the value and continual growth of the Eagle Gold Mine.
Reserves have increased by over 20% from the drilling of 58 holes
completed post-2016 Feasibility Study and we continue to see
meaningful upside potential at the Eagle and Olive pits as well as
across the Dublin Gulch property,” stated John McConnell, President
& CEO. “I remind the reader that we continue to ramp up
operations at the Eagle Gold Mine and anticipate commercial
production achievement during the 2nd quarter, 2020.”
Table 1: Gold Price Sensitivity Table |
Economic Sensitivities After Tax NPV @ 5% (Cdn$ Millions) |
FXUS$/C$ |
Au Price – US$/oz |
1,000 |
1,100 |
1,200 |
1,300 |
1,400 |
1,500 |
1600 |
1,700 |
1,800 |
1,900 |
2,000 |
0.90 |
310 |
454 |
592 |
725 |
850 |
974 |
1,098 |
1,222 |
1,345 |
1,468 |
1,592 |
0.85 |
390 |
539 |
683 |
817 |
948 |
1,079 |
1,210 |
1,341 |
1,471 |
1,602 |
1,732 |
0.80 |
479 |
633 |
779 |
919 |
1,058 |
1,197 |
1,336 |
1,475 |
1,614 |
1,752 |
1,891 |
0.75 |
576 |
736 |
886 |
1,034 |
1,183 |
1,331 |
1,479 |
1,627 |
1,775 |
1,923 |
2,070 |
0.70 |
685 |
848 |
1,007 |
1,166 |
1,325 |
1,483 |
1,642 |
1,800 |
1,959 |
2,117 |
2,275 |
0.65 |
804 |
976 |
1,147 |
1,318 |
1,489 |
1,659 |
1,830 |
2,000 |
2,171 |
2,341 |
2,511 |
0.60 |
939 |
1124 |
1,310 |
1,495 |
1,680 |
1,864 |
2,049 |
2,234 |
2,418 |
2,602 |
2,787 |
In-Pit Mineral Resource
Estimate
The Eagle Mineral Resource update within an
updated resource pit constraint resulted in a 21.1% increase in
Measured and Indicated (“M+I”) gold ounces as well as a 0.6%
increase in gold grade. This Resource update includes all Eagle and
Eagle proximal drilling completed post the 2016 Feasibility Study
(“FS”), 58 new core holes.
This first principles re-estimation of the Eagle
gold domain and grade further validates the Eagle model and results
in increased gold grade, tonnage and total gold ounces. The Mineral
Resource increased 766,000 oz Au in the M+I categories.
Table 2: Pre-Production Mineral Resource Estimate - Eagle
Pit |
Eagle Constrained In-Pit Mineral Resource |
Classification |
Cut-off Grade(g/t Au) |
Tonnes(Mt) |
Grade(g/t Au) |
Contained Au(koz) |
Measured |
0.15 |
37 |
0.71 |
850 |
Indicated |
0.15 |
180 |
0.61 |
3,547 |
Meas. + Ind. |
0.15 |
217 |
0.63 |
4,397 |
Inferred |
0.15 |
21 |
0.52 |
361 |
Notes to Table 2:
- The effective date for the Mineral
Resource is July 1, 2019.
- Mineral Resources which are not
mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The
estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by
environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical,
marketing, or other relevant issues.
- The quantity and grade of reported
Inferred Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and
there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred
Resources as an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource and it is
uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to
an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource category.
- This resource has not been depleted
for production in 2019. Pre-Production Resource based on original
topo with no depletion from preproduction/ramp up period up. A
total of 2.44 Mt at 0.82 g/t Au for 64,500 ounces of gold were
extracted from the Eagle Mine as of 15 November 2019.
- The mineral resource estimate is
constrained by a Lerchs-Grossman pit shell using a gold price of
US$1,700/oz
|
Table 3: Pre-Production Mineral Resource Estimate - Olive
Pit |
Olive Constrained In-Pit Mineral Resource |
Classification |
Cut-off Grade(g/t Au) |
Tonnes(Mt) |
Grade(g/t Au) |
Contained Au(koz) |
Measured |
0.4 |
2 |
1.19 |
75 |
Indicated |
0.4 |
8 |
1.05 |
254 |
Meas. + Ind. |
0.4 |
10 |
1.07 |
329 |
Inferred |
0.4 |
7 |
0.89 |
210 |
Notes to Table 3:
- The effective date for the Mineral
Resource is September 12, 2016.
- Mineral Resources which are not
mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The
estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by
environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical,
marketing, or other relevant issues.
- The quantity and grade of reported
Inferred Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and
there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred
Resources as an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource and it is
uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to
an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource category.
- Gold price used for this estimate
was US$1,700/oz
Updated Eagle Resource Model
Discussion
The Eagle Resource was updated with the
additional drilling performed post the 2016 Eagle Feasibility
Study, see Company News release of December 5, 2018 for full
details of updated resource.
The drillhole database of the Eagle Gold Mine
used for this Resource update has a cut-off date of October 8,
2017. It is comprised of 1,078 holes with 178,490m of drilling and
112,949 assays for gold.
The geology model of the Eagle Zone was built as
a mineralized envelope with a cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t Au. This
model was built from first principles without influence of previous
modelling, and utilized the drillhole database of gold grades.
Interpretations of gold mineralization limits were performed on
north-south sections spaced at 25m intervals. From the
interpretation and the modelling of the mineralized zone, it was
observed that the orebody has a consistent geometry that is
continuous from one section to the next.
The estimation of gold grades was performed with
the ordinary kriging technique on capped composites. The block
model structure consists of an orthogonal model (no rotation) with
block dimensions of 10m (X) x 10m (Y) x 5m (Z) with specific
gravity (SG) values based on lithology, and reduced oxidation
state. A minimum of 2 and maximum of 12 samples were required to
calculate a block estimate. The search ellipsoid was dimensioned
and oriented according to the variogram models. The grade
estimation process consisted of a 3-pass approach with the
parameters of the first pass (long axis 80°/0° at 56.0m; short axis
170°/0° at 25.0m; vertical axis 80°/-90° at 75.0m). The estimation
parameters of the second and third passes are the same with the
exception of an enlarged search ellipsoid by 1.5 times and 3 times
the dimensions from the first pass, respectively. Only blocks
within the modeled mineralized zone were estimated.
The mineral resource was classified as Measured,
Indicated, and Inferred based on the variogram ranges of the second
structures. The average distance of samples from the block center
was utilized as the classification criterion. Measured, Indicated,
and Inferred Resources were assigned to the estimates of the Eagle
Zone. The distances to categorize the resources into the different
classes were Measured (≤ 17.0m), Indicated (> 17.0m and ≤ 52.0m)
and Inferred (>52.0m).
Mineral Reserves
The Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate
is the economically minable portions of the Measured and Indicated
in-pit Mineral Resource as demonstrated by the updated Technical
Report.
The Mineral Reserves were developed by examining
each deposit to determine the optimal and practical mining method.
Cut-off grades were then determined based on appropriate mine
design criteria and the adopted mining method. A shovel and truck
open pit mining method was selected for the two deposits.
The mineral reserve estimations take into
consideration on-site operating costs (mining, processing, site
services, freight, general and administration), geotechnical
analysis for open pit wall angles, metallurgical recoveries, and
selling costs. In addition, the Mineral Reserves incorporate
allowances for mining recovery and dilution and overall economic
viability.
The estimated Proven and Probable Mineral
Reserves is shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Pre-Production Mineral Reserve Estimate - Eagle
Gold Mine |
Type |
Area |
Ore (Mt) |
DilutedGrade (g/t) |
ContainedGold (koz) |
Crushed Ore |
Eagle |
114 |
0.77 |
2,818 |
Olive |
7 |
0.95 |
200 |
Total |
121 |
0.78 |
3,018 |
Run of Mine Ore |
Eagle |
35 |
0.22 |
243 |
Olive |
- |
- |
- |
Total |
35 |
0.22 |
243 |
Crushed + ROM |
Total |
155 |
0.65 |
3,261 |
Notes to Table 4:
- The effective date for the Mineral
Reserve is July 1, 2019
- Mineral Reserves are included
within Mineral Resources
- A gold price of US$1,275/oz is
assumed.
- A US$:C$ exchange rate of 0.75
- Cut-off grades, dilution and
recovery factors are applied as per open pit mining method
- This resource has not been depleted
for production in 2019. Pre-Production Resource based on original
topo with no depletion from preproduction/ramp up period up. A
total of 2.44 Mt at 0.82 g/t Au for 64,500 ounces of gold were
extracted from the Eagle Mine as of 15 November 2019.
|
Table 5: Pre-Production Mineral Reserve Estimate
Classification - Eagle Gold Mine |
Area |
Classification |
Ore (Mt) |
DilutedGrade (g/t) |
ContainedGold (koz) |
Eagle |
Proven |
30 |
0.71 |
694 |
Probable |
118 |
0.63 |
2,366 |
Total |
148 |
0.64 |
3,061 |
Olive |
Proven |
2 |
1.02 |
58 |
Probable |
5 |
0.93 |
142 |
Total |
7 |
0.67 |
200 |
Eagle + Olive |
Total |
155 |
0.65 |
3,261 |
Notes to Table 5:
- The effective date for the Mineral
Reserve is November 15, 2019
- Mineral Reserves are included
within Mineral Resources
- A gold price of US$1,275/oz is
assumed.
- A US$:C$ exchange rate of 0.75
- Cut-off grades, dilution and
recovery factors are applied as per open pit mining method
- This resource has not been depleted
for production in 2019. Pre-Production Resource based on original
topo with no depletion from preproduction/ramp up period up. A
total of 2.44 Mt at 0.82 g/t Au for 64,500 ounces of gold were
extracted from the Eagle Mine as of 15 November 2019.
Mining
Eagle and Olive are open pit mines and operate
as drill, blast, shovel and haul operations with a mine life of 11
years. Crushed ore is hauled to the primary crusher located toward
the north east side of the Eagle pit. Run of mine (“ROM”) ore will
be hauled directly to the primary heap leach pad.
Eagle waste rock is hauled to one of two waste
rock storage areas immediately to the south and north of the open
pit which results in short haul distances. Olive waste rock will be
hauled to a waste rock storage area immediately south-west of the
open pit. Waste rock storage will be managed to allow for future
pit expansion. The ratio of waste to ore is 0.96 to 1 and total
waste material is 149 million tonnes.
Processing
Material above crushed ore cut-off grades is
hauled from the open-pits to the primary crusher. Ore is primary
crushed at a nominal rate of 29,500 tpd. Following primary
crushing, ore is conveyed through a secondary and tertiary crushing
circuit to a final crush size of P80 6.5 mm. Crushed ore is
conveyed to one of the two in-valley heap leach pads.
Ore is stacked in 10m high lifts using a mobile
conveying and stacking system then primary leached for 45 days. The
pregnant solution, laden with gold once leaching is complete, is
pumped to an Adsorption Desorption Recovery (“ADR”) plant where
gold is stripped from the solution and poured into doré bars. Life
of mine recovery is estimated at 76%.
Ore will be mined and primary crushed 365 days
per year. Ore is stacked on the heap leach pads 275 days per year.
A primary crushed ore stockpile will be used during the coldest 90
days of the year and the stockpile will be reclaimed to the
secondary crushing circuit and loaded onto the pads during the 275
day stacking period.
A total of 155 million tonnes of ore will be
mined, including 121 million tonnes of crushed ore and 35 million
tonnes of ROM ore.
Infrastructure
The project is well supported by local
infrastructure. Eagle is accessed via an existing year-round road
connecting to the Silver Trail Highway. The Eagle Gold Mine is
connected to grid power with a long-term power purchase agreement
with Yukon Energy Corp. A 1,400m airstrip is located in Mayo,
approximately 85km by road from the project site, with daily
scheduled commercial flights. An existing camp and all supporting
infrastructure is in place and supporting mine and processing
operations.
Initial Capital Cost
The initial capital cost for Eagle is sunk and
more fully described in the Technical Report.
Sustaining Capital Cost
Estimate
Life of Mine sustaining capital costs are
estimated at $174.5 million and closure costs are $35 million.
Category |
LOM(C$M) |
2020(C$M) |
LOM Total(C$M) |
Long Lead Procurement |
10.5 |
1.6 |
8.9 |
Construction Contracts |
119.1 |
11.9 |
107.2 |
Construction Support Contracts |
3.3 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
General Field Indirects |
0.7 |
- |
0.7 |
Freight |
2.3 |
- |
2.3 |
Engineering & EPCM |
26.7 |
21.2 |
5.5 |
HME Equipment |
12.0 |
- |
12.0 |
Total Sustaining Capital |
174.5 |
36.3 |
138.2 |
Closure (Net of Salvage) |
35.0 |
- |
35.0 |
Total Capital Costs ( sustaining plus
closure) |
209.5 |
36.3 |
173.2 |
|
|
|
|
Operating Costs
LOM site operating costs are $12.43 per tonne
processed, as summarized below:
Area |
Operating Costs |
|
C$/t mined |
C$/t leached |
US$/ozpayable |
Mine |
2.45 |
4.84 |
225 |
Process/leach |
n/a |
4.86 |
225 |
G&A |
n/a |
2.73 |
127 |
Total |
|
12.43 |
577 |
|
|
|
|
Financial Analysis
Base case: gold price US$1,300/ounce gold and US$/C$ exchange
rate of 0.75:
Pre-tax
- Net Present Value discounted at 5% is $1,389
million
Post-tax
- Net Present Value discounted at 5% is $1,034
million
The economics do not include principal repayment or interest
payments associated with the debt incurred to construct the Eagle
Gold Mine (see new release dated March 8, 2018).
Opportunities
The most impactful opportunity the company is currently pursuing
is year-round stacking as is currently practiced at other northern
heap leach operations.
Effective and Filing Date
The effective date of the Technical report is
November 15, 2019 and it will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days.
About the Dublin Gulch
Property
Victoria Gold's 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold
property is situated in central Yukon Territory, Canada,
approximately 375 kilometers north of the capital city of
Whitehorse, and approximately 85 kilometers from the town of Mayo.
The Property is accessible by road year-round, and connected to
Yukon Energy's electrical grid.
The Property covers an area of approximately 555
square kilometers, and is the site of the Company's Eagle Gold
Deposit. The Eagle Gold Mine is in operations and is Yukon's newest
operating gold mine. The Eagle and Olive deposits, include Proven
and Probable Reserves of 3.3 million ounces of gold from 155
million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.65 grams of gold per tonne,
as outlined in a National Instrument 43-101 Technical
Report for the Eagle Gold Mine and dated December 3, 2019. The
NI 43-101 Mineral Resource for the Eagle and Olive deposits has
been estimated to host 227 million tonnes averaging 0.67 grams of
gold per tonne, containing 4.7 million ounces of gold in the
"Measured and Indicated" category, inclusive of Proven and Probable
Reserves, and a further 28 million tonnes averaging 0.65 grams of
gold per tonne, containing 0.6 million ounces of gold in the
"Inferred" category.
Qualified PersonThe technical
content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by
Anthony (Tony) George, P.Eng. and Paul D. Gray, P.Geo, as the
Qualified Persons. For additional information relating to the
Property, refer to the technical report entitled “NI 43-101
Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine, Yukon Territory, Canada”,
with an effective date of November 15, 2019, which is available on
the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com.
Non-IFRS MeasuresThe Company
has included certain non-IFRS measures including “Cash Cost per Au
ounce” and “All-in Sustaining Cost per Au ounce” in this press
release which are not in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). Cash Cost per Au ounce is equal to
production costs divided by gold ounces produced. All-in Sustaining
Cost per Au ounce is equal to production costs plus corporate
general and administrative, sustaining exploration, royalties,
refining, and sustaining capital expenditures divided by gold
ounces produced. The Company believes that these measures provide
investors with an alternative view to evaluate the economics of the
Company. Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning
prescribed under IFRS. Therefore, they may not be comparable to
similar measures employed by other companies. The data is intended
to provide additional information and should not be considered in
isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared
in accordance with IFRS.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking
StatementsNeither the TSX Venture Exchange, nor its
Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes
certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements".
All statements in this discussion, other than statements of
historical facts, that address future exploration drilling,
exploration activities, anticipated metal production, internal rate
of return, estimated ore grades, commencement of production
estimates and projected exploration and capital expenditures
(including costs and other estimates upon which such projections
are based) and events or developments that the Company expects, are
forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the
expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based
on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include metal prices, exploration
successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and
general economic, market or business conditions. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
For Further Information Contact:John McConnell
President & CEO Victoria Gold Corp Tel: 416-866-8800 Fax:
416-866-8801
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