Gowest’s Bradshaw Mine Is the New Gold Mine in Timmins

Dan Gagnon President and CEO of Gowest Gold spoke at the Timmins Chamber of  Commerce Luncheon at the Dante Club in Timmins Ontario, on Tuesday April 18 2023 to give an update on the company’s steady rise over the last five years from being dormant to becoming an operating mine.

As he was addressing the packed Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Gagnon, was beaming over the steady progress Gowest has made over the past two years culminating in the commencement of mining operations at the Bradshaw Deposit on April 10, 2023.

“I am really glad that we were able to take this mine that had been dormant for 6 years and bring it into production,” Dan Gagnon told a well attended Timmins Chamber of Commerce luncheon. 

“ I’m happy to say that on April 10th we and our partners at Dumas began production,” Gagnon said.
“We are the new gold mine in Timmins.”

Gowest took a video of day one at the mine extracting ore and sent a copy to their investors so they could share the occasion. 

“We were really keen to show our investors in China how much we had progressed and thank them by giving them a memento of this special occasion they stood behind Gowest all these years”

No fan fare, no trumpets blaring. No news releases, no cameras. Just pure blood, sweat and tears. Hard work in a project that so many had tremendous, even enthusiastic faith in. Including the investors, some as far away as China. They stood by Gowest. And the results are exhilarating for the company.

“Our employees are more excited than me! At the opening of the mine. It’s very energizing,” Gagnon declared.

The first time people in the room found heard about the opening of mining operations at Bradshaw was at the luncheon. Gagnon, his team, Gowest investors realize there is much more to do to solidify the success before the celebrations begin.

Five years ago, Gowest was stalled, dormant. The debts mounted and one contractor placed a lien on the Timmins North project for unpaid bills.

The first crisis occurred in 2018 when a milling deal with Northern Sun Mill was mutually suspended.
“Gowest Gold at a Standstill with Timmins Mine Project” read one headline. That was followed by a lawsuit from Cementation in July 2022. All the while works at the mine came to a standstill.

Dan Gagnon was appointed President and CEO of Gowest in August 2021. His mandate was to get Gowest financial picture in order and start moving to the productive mining phase. Get Gowest unstuck and moving.

His mining career  prepared Gagnon to fulfill his mandate. Gagnon, who is from and lives in Timmins, brings over 30 years of experience in geology and general management from a wide range of operations across Canada. His extensive responsibilities have included all aspects of the mining operations at several companies, including operations, milling, maintenance, engineering, mine geology, administration, health safety and environment and community relations, ensuring the effective and profitable use of available resources and facilities. 

Most recently, Gagnon was General Manager and then Vice President Operations with Harte Gold Corp, where he helped to optimize the operation at the Sugar Zone Mine in White River, Ontario. He was also Senior Vice President of Operations for Lakeshore Gold. 

Dan started his career in geology, ending after 13 years as Chief Geologist at Musselwhite Mine in Ontario. Over the following 17 years, he worked as General Manager at several Canadian operations, including TMAC Resources’ Hope Bay Project in Nunavut, Canada. Gagnon holds a Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Geology from the University of Ottawa.

Other than a stint as a teacher, Gagnon has focused his career on mining. 

Turnaround

The first part of Gowest’s turnaround strategy was to pay off its creditors, including Cementation, which was owed The North Bay-headquartered mining service company is seeking payment of $7.4 million for certain services and materials provided to Gowest under a contract between the two parties from March, 2017. The statement of claim also named Greenwater Investment of Hong Kong, Gowest's financier and largest shareholder, as a defendant.

Gowest and Cementation announced in January 2023  settled the debt by March 31, 2023.

New Investment will drive mining production expansion and exploration

 Gowest moved to secure additional funding to meet the costs of operating for the Bradshaw deposit and to continue exploring its property for additional gold resources. On April 17, a day before Gagnon’s address to the Timmins Chamber of Commerce, Gowest announced a private placement financing package of $15 million combined with the sale of $10 million in promissory notes by Lush Land Investment Canada. Lush Land a key project investor, increased its shareholder stake in Gowest from 9.1 per cent to 24.7 per cent.

The funds are earmarked for development and a planned restart of the Bradshaw mining operation, 32 kilometres northeast of the city. It’s part of the company’s larger North Timmins Gold Project, and to continue exploring the 10,900 hectares around the mine.

In explaining Gowest’s strategy for operating the Bradshaw mine and continued exploration, Gagnon told the noontime gathering at the Dante Club about the company’s Three, Seven and Thirteen Year Plans.

Three Year Plan
During the Three Year Plan, Gowest will Focus on Mining Production Expansion and Exploration. Additional Exploration around the Bradshaw Deposit will Start May 1 2023 spend a minimum of $15 million dollars in exploration drilling. The goal is to increase Gowest’s gold resource potential to 1.3 million oz. Three year plan will continue to collect bulk samples to test the ore’s grade and to open more mining areas on the east side of Bradshaw. 

The mine at this initial Three Plan is 63 metres deep, but by the end of the plan with extraction the depth with increase to 350 metres. The mining operation will start with a modest 400 tonnes of ore  per day extracted at Bradshaw and then ramp up 1,000 tonnes a day.

According to Gagnon, the gold-bearing quartz vein in ground is a narrow 0.5 m to a 1 m wide. Gowest will be drilling at between 1 to 7 m wide.

Under Gowest's 3 year plan it will cost  $1,400 per oz of gold extracted. With gold inching towards $2,100 dollars per oz there is plenty of room for profitability.

By the end of the Seven Year Plan the mine will reach 700 metres then down to 1,000 metres (1 km).

Gagnon said the ore from Bradshaw will be milled at the Redstone Mill, owned by Northern Sun located 90 km away from the mine site.

“We have started moving ore to surface and are now stockpiling it on site prior to shipping it to Redstone Mill,” explained Gagnon. “We have an ore sorter that separates the ore from waste rock.”

Smelting 
Gowest gold has trace amounts of arsenic in the ore. To safely eliminate the arsenic the ore will have to be smelted. Currently, Gowest is holding talks with Glencore about using it smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, relatively close by to reduce transportation costs. 

Dan Gagnon Participating in the Canadian Mining Expo’s Challenges and Opportunities in Mining
For those who want to follow Gowest’s progress over the next two months, Dan will be speaking about “The Bradshaw Restart-The Path Forward” at the Canadian Mining Expo 2023 on Thursday June 8, 11:40 am - 12:00 pm.    

First Gold Pour
The next milestone for Gowest will be its first pour of a doré  gold brick in July or August 2023

Ingredients for Success
Though Gagnon’s insights into the qualities need to succeed were in reference to the turnaround at Gowest, his lessons could be applied to all walks of life. That’s the teacher coming out in Dan.

The two qualities are perseverance and passion for the work, the community and the investors – two qualities that will keep you going during the tough days. And when a level of stability has been achieved and success is on the horizon, be innovative to drive you to the next level. Think out of the box whether its your mine plan or organizational chart.

For Gagnon who is from Timmins, the Timmins community and broadly speaking the broader Northern Ontario and Western Quebec region is very important. It creates work and adds to the Timmins and area economy. The Timmins area has skilled workers and Gowest strives to hire the best employees and contractors.

Gagnon is very proud to have Dumas Mine Contractors and Faraco as partners with Gowest and  help propel the Bradshaw deposit to an operating mine. Dumas, Gagnon noted was started in Timmins.
 

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Dan Gagnon, President and CEO of Gowest Mining, Addressing the Timmins Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Frank Giorno, Mining Life

Tags: Northern Ontario / Operational Updates / Gold / All Articles