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Brigus Gold

The Goldfields Project

Sep 27, 2013




 

Country
 

Canada
 
Type of Mine
 
Open pit and underground gold mines
 
Ownership
 
100% owned and operated by Brigus Gold
 
Land Position
 
Black Fox Mine = 1,225 hectares
Black Fox Mill = 2,280 hectares
 

          


Introduction
The Goldfields Project currently consists of two gold deposits - the Box the Athona deposits. The project was acquired in May 2009 by a predecessor company of Brigus Gold and named after the historic mining town of Goldfields that was located between the Box and Athona areas.

The Box and Athona deposits are open at depth with potential for resource additions to either extend the projected 13 year mine life or increase annual production rates. The development of a proposed Box Mine is subject to final mine engineering design and a final production decision by the Company.

Highlights
 
Location
The Goldfields Project is located near Uranium City, in northwest Saskatchewan, on the northern shore of Lake Athabasca. The property is approximately 640 kilometers (km) north of Saskatoon and 450 km southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The Box deposit is part of the Goldfields property, located approximately 24 km, south of Uranium City.

Property Description
The Box deposit is located in the vicinity of an historic underground mine. The Uranium City has good infrastructure, including a nearby airport, electric power, water and sewage systems. The Box area is accessed via a 25 km dirt road from Uranium City to the northwest, with a shorter ice road constructed during the winter season.
 
The Athona deposit is located 0.6 km southeast of Neiman Bay and two air km southeast of the Box deposit. Neiman Bay separates the Box and Athona deposits, which are connected by a six-km plowed road. Both Box and Athona are also accessible by barge on Lake Athabasca.
 
Exploration Outlook
Box and Athona have potential to add resources from beyond the reserve-resource boundary, below the current pit designs. At Box, drilling will follow up on tracing the higher grade mineralization beneath the proposed open pit design at Box, including a proposed infill drill program targeting resource additions.
 
Brigus Gold believes that the promising Goldfields area could host additional gold mineralized systems similar to Box and Athona, with high-interest historic gold targets, such as Golden Pond, located approximately 3 km northeast of Box, where past drilling intersected 5.1 gpt over 15 m and 16.6 gpt over 13.6 m in two holes.
 
Geology and Mineralization
Both Box and Athona deposits are similar in mineralogy and geology. Gold mineralization is associated in altered granite zones containing quartz vein fracturing, with the main gold-bearing granite zone measuring up to 55m in true thickness at the Box dipping 42 degrees to the south east, and 24m in true thickness at Athona and dipping approximately 35 degrees in a northwesterly trend.
 
Sulfide content is generally less than 1% in fine grained pyrites. The two deposits are characterized by stockworked gold mineralization associated with fine-grained pyrite in the quartz and quartz carbonate veining.
 
Qualified Person
Brigus Gold's Sr. Exploration Project Manager John Dixon is the Qualified Person who reviewed the above information.


Technival Report

The Report, prepared by March Consulting Associates Inc., is a pre-feasibility study which indicates a Net Present Value (NPV) of $144.3 million at a 5% discount rate with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 19.6% assuming a gold price of $1,250 per ounce.
 
Brigus retained Wardrop, a Tetra Tech company, to complete the updated resource estimate for the Box and Athona deposits. The Report was prepared in compliance with the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101)
 
Report Highlights:
• Mine life of 13 years (including both Box and Athona deposits) based on existing reserves of 1,020,000
ounces of gold at an average gold grade of 1.97 grams per tonne (gpt) over the first 7 years and 1.42
gpt over the life of the mine.
• Processing rate of 1,825,000 tonnes per year (5,000 tonnes per day (tpdl) and a recovery rate of 91%
for the Box deposit and 89% for the Athona deposit.
• Average cash operating costs of $601 per ounce with a break-even gold price of approximately $1,000
per ounce.
• Capital costs of approximately $160 million (leased mining fleet not included).
NPV 0181443 million at a 5% discount rate with an IRR of 19.6% and a payback period of five years
assuming a gold price of $1,250 per ounce.
• At $1,500 per ounce ofgold, the NPV for the project increases to $300 million with an IRR of 32%.
Average annual production of approximately 100,000 ounces per year during the first seven years. The
• Environmental impact Statement (BIS) has been submitted and approved. Therefore no permitting
delays are anticipated.

Source: http://www.brigusgold.com/projects/goldfields/overview/