Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX-VGCX) (“Victoria” or the “Company”) is
pleased to announce the results of its updated Technical Report
(“2023 Eagle Technical Report”) on the Eagle Gold Mine, including
an increase in Mineral Resources, updated Mineral Reserves, and
updated Life of Mine (“LOM”) plan. The 2023 Eagle Technical Report
highlights an increasing gold production profile, long mine life,
and robust economics.
“We are pleased to provide a mine plan update
that confirms strong production growth at the Eagle Gold Mine,”
stated John McConnell, President and CEO. “This increased
production is achievable utilizing our existing crushing and
conveying circuit and mining fleet. The Eagle orebody continues to
reconcile extremely well with our reserve model and gold production
is in line with original recovery expectations. We have also seen a
significant increase in mineral resources with the success of our
recent exploration drilling, substantiating the operation’s
long-term production profile and mine life.”
The Company uses certain non-IFRS performance
measures throughout this news release. Please refer to the
“Non-IFRS Performance Measures” section of this new release for
more information. All currency figures are in Canadian dollars
unless otherwise indicated.
A supporting NI 43-101 Technical Report will be
filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com within 45 days of this press
release.
Summary of 2023 Updated Life of Mine Plan:
The updated mine plan considers cost and
operating data from the last three years of operations at the Eagle
Gold Mine. Optimizations incorporated into this 2023 Eagle
Technical Report include year-round stacking on the heap leach
facility (“HLF”), stockpiling of lower grade material for end of
mine life processing, and utilization of a mobile crusher to
supplement and increase production rates. Key highlights of the
updated plan are:
-
After-tax net present value (“NPV”) at a 5% discount of $954
million ($1,257 million pre-tax), at US$1,700 per ounce of gold and
a US$:C$ exchange rate of 0.75.
-
Average gold production of 202,000 ounces per year over the first 8
years, with peak production of 219,000 gold ounces in 2025.
-
Average free cash flow (“FCF”) of $166 million per year for the
first 8 years with a total of $1,602 million of FCF over the
LOM.
-
Total gold production of 2,048,000 ounces over a mine life of 12
years. This total does not include gold production prior to 31
December 2022.
-
LOM All-in Sustaining Cost (“AISC”) of US$1,114 per ounce of gold
providing significant operating and profit margins at current gold
prices.
-
Throughput increase to steady-state level of 11.5 million tonnes
processed per annum during 2025.
-
Industry leading strip ratio of 0.99.
-
Total Proven and Probable Reserves, as at December 31, 2022, of 124
million tonnes at 0.65 grams of gold per tonne for 2,584,000
contained gold ounces.
-
Total Mineral Resources, as at December 31, 2022, of 245 million
tonnes at 0.59 grams of gold per tonne for 4,665,000 gold ounces in
the Measured and Indicated category. An additional 36 million
tonnes at 0.63 grams of gold per tonne for 704,000 gold ounces are
included in the Inferred category.
Updated Mineral Resource
Estimate:
Since the 2019 Eagle Mineral Resource Estimate
(“MRE”), an additional 35 drill holes were drilled proximal to the
Eagle deposit for a total of 16,885 meters. The primary focus of
this drilling was to test for mineralization extensions of the
Eagle deposit to the west. A portion of these holes were also
drilled within the existing deposit to test for mineralization at
depth. Both the extension and depth drilling achieved positive
results and were utilized in the updated MRE. The Eagle deposit
remains open both to the Southwest and at depth.
In addition, an updated Olive MRE was prepared
utilizing drilling completed since the 2016 Feasibility Study
(“FS”). The 2019 Olive MRE was the same as the 2016 Olive FS MRE.
92 additional drill holes and 19 surface trenches were included in
the updated Olive MRE.
The Company's updated Eagle MRE gold ounces have
increased by 17% in the Measured and Indicated category, and 38% in
the Inferred category over the 2019 Eagle MRE, after depletion
through December 31, 2022. The updated Olive MRE gold ounces have
increased by 10% in the Measured and Indicated category and
decreased by 1% in the Inferred category. The total Measured and
Indicated resources have increased to 4,665,000 ounces, with an
additional 704,000 ounces in the Inferred category. The new Eagle
MRE represents an additional 629,000 ounces of Measured and
Indicated and 136,000 ounces of Inferred over the 2019 Eagle MRE
with most ounces coming from expansion of the resource beyond the
2019 MRE pit shell.
Table 1: Updated Mineral Resources Estimate as at
December 31, 2022
|
Classification |
Ore (Mt) |
Grade (g/t) |
Contained Gold (k oz) |
Eagle |
Measured |
35 |
0.62 |
705 |
Indicated |
198 |
0.57 |
3,596 |
M&I |
233 |
0.57 |
4,304 |
Inferred |
30 |
0.52 |
497 |
Olive |
Measured |
3 |
1.01 |
113 |
Indicated |
8 |
0.95 |
249 |
M&I |
12 |
0.97 |
361 |
Inferred |
6 |
1.17 |
207 |
Notes:(1) Mineral Resource have an effective
date of December 31, 2022 and are classified based on 2014 CIM
Definitions(2) Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral
Reserves(3) A gold price of US$1,700 per ounce of gold is
assumed(4) Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not
have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral
Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting,
legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other
relevant issues(5) The quantity and grade of reported inferred
Mineral Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and
there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred
Mineral Resources as an indicated Mineral Resource and it is
uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to
an indicated or measured Mineral Resource category(6) A US$:C$
exchange rate of 0.75(7) Eagle Mineral Resources are reported at a
cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t Au(8) Olive Mineral Resources are
reported at a cut-off grade of 0.40 g/t Au(9) The Qualified Person
for the Mineral Resource Estimate is Mr. Marc Jutras P.Eng.,
M.A.Sc., Principal of Ginto Consulting Inc.(10) Numbers may not add
exactly due to rounding
Updated Mineral Reserve Estimate:
The Mineral Reserves for Eagle and Olive were
updated with the new mine plan and updated MRE and remain
comparable to the 2019 Eagle Technical Report Reserves after
depletion. The decrease in tonnage from the 2019 mineral reserves
represents depletion from mining through December 31, 2022 and
minor differences from cut-off grade adjustments. Since the
commencement of operations, the Eagle Mineral Reserve estimate has
reconciled well to mining actuals.
Table 2: Mineral Reserves Estimate as at December 31,
2022
|
Classification |
Ore (Mt) |
Diluted Grade (g/t) |
Contained Gold (k oz) |
Eagle |
Proven |
21 |
0.68 |
464 |
Probable |
97 |
0.63 |
1,943 |
Total |
118 |
0.64 |
2,407 |
Olive |
Proven |
3 |
0.87 |
72 |
Probable |
4 |
0.82 |
104 |
Total |
7 |
0.84 |
176 |
Eagle + Olive |
Total |
124 |
0.65 |
2,584 |
Notes:(1) Mineral Reserves have an effective
date of 31 December 2022 and are classified based on 2014 CIM
Definitions.(2) A gold price of US$1,550/oz is assumed(3) Eagle
Reserves are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.20 g/t, and
recoveries ranging from 73% to 86% (4) Olive Reserves are reported
at cut-off grades from 0.24 to 0.31 g/t, and recoveries ranging
from 52% to 76%(5) Dilution has been applied at 5.0% for Eagle
Reserves and 9.0% for Olive Reserves(6) Gold ounces are reported as
contained and do not include allowances for processing losses(7)
The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserves Statement is Mr. Nico
Harvey, P.Eng., Senior Engineer with Victoria Gold
The updated Mineral Reserve model was validated
by comparison against previously mined out areas. Month end
reconciliation solids were utilized to run Reserves at operational
cut-off grades and compared against surveyed monthly mined tonnages
and assayed results from 2020 to 2022. The total gold ounce
difference between Reserve model and reconciled actuals was
approximately -1%, with the actuals having higher tonnages and
slightly lower grade. In addition, material that was previously
defined as waste has been converted into ore due to increased drill
and assay density from mining operations. Through December 31,
2022, a total of 4.35 million tonnes of additional mineralized
material has been mined beyond what was predicted by the 2019
Mineral Reserve model.
Production Schedule:
The Eagle Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine
that utilizes conventional shovel and truck mining methods. Mining
of the two pits (Eagle and Olive) will be completed over a period
of 10 years, with residual processing of stockpiled ore over an
additional 1.5 years. The average mining rate over the LOM is 67.7
thousand tonnes per day at a strip ratio of 0.99.
Ore from the mine is crushed through a
three-stage crushing circuit and conveyed to one of two HLFs.
Process solution is applied to the crushed rock to extract gold
into solution. Gold is recovered through a traditional Adsorption,
Desorption, and Recovery (“ADR”) plant, and doré bars are poured on
site. Tonnes of ore stacked are expected to increase in each of
2023 and 2024, reaching a steady-state stacking rate of 11.5
million tonnes per annum by 2025. A mobile crushing unit is
utilized to feed crushed ore to the HLF when the main circuit is
down for maintenance.
Ultimate LOM recovery is projected to be 76.2%
and over 2.0 million ounces of gold are forecast to be produced
over the remaining mine life. The LOM production schedule is
highlighted in Table 3.
Table 3: LOM Production Schedule
|
|
LOM |
‘23 |
‘24 |
‘25 |
‘26 |
‘27 |
‘28 |
‘29 |
‘30 |
‘31 |
‘32 |
‘33 |
‘34 |
Waste Mined |
(million tonnes) |
122.9 |
16.7 |
20.6 |
15.1 |
8.7 |
6.0 |
10.9 |
13.1 |
10.9 |
13.0 |
7.8 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Ore Mined |
(million tonnes) |
124.3 |
9.5 |
12.7 |
14.6 |
14.3 |
14.5 |
14.2 |
14.9 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
6.7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
TotalMined |
(million tonnes) |
247.2 |
26.2 |
33.3 |
29.7 |
23.0 |
20.5 |
25.1 |
27.9 |
22.4 |
24.5 |
14.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Ore Stacked |
(million tonnes) |
124.3 |
9.5 |
10.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
0.8 |
Stacked Grade |
(grams per tonne) |
0.65 |
0.82 |
0.73 |
0.78 |
0.80 |
0.74 |
0.70 |
0.69 |
0.54 |
0.61 |
0.53 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
Contained Gold |
(thousand ounces) |
2,584 |
249 |
246 |
289 |
295 |
272 |
257 |
256 |
199 |
225 |
197 |
91 |
7 |
Produced Gold |
(thousand ounces) |
2,048 |
180 |
194 |
219 |
217 |
202 |
186 |
208 |
212 |
179 |
143 |
73 |
36 |
Gold Recovery Reconciliation:
Project to date, gold recovery has trended in
line with modelled estimates utilized in the 2019 Eagle Technical
Report and no substantive changes have been made to the LOM
recovery expectations for Eagle. A notable improvement from the
2019 Eagle Technical Report has been increasing the crush size from
a target P80 of 6.5 mm to 12-14 mm with no appreciable reduction in
gold recovery. This improvement has been realized through an
improved understanding of the particle size distribution of crushed
ore. In addition, the total leach time is longer than initially
estimated and operational results indicate that the ultimate gold
recovery will likely be modestly higher than the recovery projected
in the 2023 Eagle Technical Report. LOM ultimate recovery is
projected to be 76.2%.
Capital and Operating Costs:
LOM Capital costs are projected to be $292
million. Capital costs are summarized below in Table 4. In addition
to sustaining and growth capital costs, the LOM plan includes an
allocation of $65 million for reclamation at the end of the mine’s
life.
Table 4: LOM Capital Costs Summary
Category |
LOM (million $) |
Mining |
111 |
Processing |
41 |
Growth |
139 |
Total |
292 |
LOM operating costs are estimated at $19.55 per
tonne stacked. Unit costs for 2023 and 2024 are expected to be
higher than the LOM average due to higher mining costs associated
with higher stripping requirements as well as lower production
rates as the operation increases stacking rates to steady-state
levels by 2025. Ongoing cost saving initiatives are expected to
materialize over the next two years. LOM average operating costs
are summarized below in Table 5.
Table 5: LOM Operating Costs Summary
Category |
LOM (million $) |
$/t Leached (1) |
Mining |
818 |
3.31 (2) |
Processing |
1,222 |
9.03 |
Site Services |
206 |
1.66 |
G&A |
284 |
2.28 |
TOTAL |
2,430 |
19.55 |
Notes:(1)(2) Mining operating costs are reported
as $/t mined
2023 Mine Plan Economics:
The 2023 Eagle Technical Report financial model
utilizes US$1,700 per ounce gold. The three-year trailing average
gold price as of December 31, 2022 is US$1,791 per ounce. A US$:C$
exchange rate of 0.75 was applied. Table 6 outlines the Base Case
economics as well as sensitivities at different gold prices.
Table 6: Summary of Mine Plan Economics by Gold
Price
|
Low Case |
Base Case |
Spot Case (1) |
High Case |
Gold Price ($/ounce) |
$1,500 |
$1,700 |
$1,815 |
$2,000 |
US$:C$ Exchange Rate |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
Pre-Tax Cash Flow ($ million) |
1,082 |
1,602 |
1,900 |
2,381 |
Post-Tax Cash Flow ($ million) |
875 |
1,204 |
1,393 |
1,696 |
Pre-Tax NPV5% ($ million) |
849 |
1,257 |
1,491 |
1,867 |
Post-Tax NPV5% ($ million) |
696 |
954 |
1,102 |
1,338 |
Notes:(1) Spot Case was run with the gold price
as of December 31, 2022, the effective date of the technical
report.
Qualified Persons:
The following Qualified Persons (“QP”) as
defined by NI 43-101 were involved in the preparation of the 2023
Eagle Technical Report. Each QP has reviewed and approved this
release as it related to their respective sections, as
applicable.
Table 7: List of Qualified Persons
Qualified Person |
Scope of Responsibility |
Nicolas Harvey, P.Eng.,Victoria Gold Corp |
Mineral Reserve Estimate, Mining Methods, Market Studies, Capital
and Operating Costs Estimates, Economics, Infrastructure, Aspects
of Environment, Social, & Permitting, |
Paul Gray, P.Geo.,Victoria Gold Corp |
Geology, Deposit Type, Drilling, Exploration, QA/QC, Data
Verification |
Jeff Winterton, PE.,Victoria Gold Corp |
Metallurgy & Recovery, Processing Methods |
Marc Jutras, P.Eng., M.A.Sc.,Ginto Consulting Inc. |
Mineral Resource Estimate |
Mike Levy, P.E., P.G., P.Eng.,JDS Energy & Mining Inc. |
Pit and Waste Rock Storage Area Geotechnical Considerations |
About the Dublin Gulch
PropertyVictoria Gold's 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold
property (the “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 is located
within Yukon Energy's electrical grid.
The Property covers an area of approximately 555
square kilometers, and is the site of the Company's Eagle and Olive
Gold Deposits. The Company press released the results of a National
Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine on
February 24, 2023 (the “2023 Eagle Technical Report”). The 2023
Eagle Technical Report will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days from
the press release. The Eagle and Olive deposits include Proven and
Probable Reserves of 2.6 million ounces of gold from 124 million
tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.65 grams of gold per tonne. The
Mineral Resource for the Eagle and Olive Gold Deposits has been
estimated to host 245 million tonnes averaging 0.59 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 36 million tonnes averaging 0.63 grams of gold per
tonne, containing 0.7 million ounces of gold in the "Inferred"
category.
Non-IFRS Performance Measures
The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures in this new
release. Refer to the Company’s MD&A for an explanation,
discussion and reconciliation of non-IFRS measures. The Company
believes that these measures, in addition to measures prepared in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
(“IFRS”), provide readers with an improved ability to evaluate the
underlying performance of the Company and to compare it to
information reported by other companies. The non-IFRS measures are
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. These measures do not
have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore
may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other
issuers.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release includes certain statements
that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Except for
statements of historical fact relating to Victoria, information
contained herein constitutes forward-looking information, including
any information related to the intended use of proceeds from the
Term Facility and the Revolving Credit Facility, the amended terms
and conditions of the Loan Facility, and Victoria's strategy, plans
or future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking
information is characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”,
“budget”, “target”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”,
“estimate” and other similar words, or statements that certain
events or conditions “may”, “will”, “could” or “should” occur, and
includes any guidance and forecasts set out herein (including, but
not limited to, production and operational guidance of the
Corporation). In order to give such forward-looking information,
the Corporation has made certain assumptions about its business,
operations, the economy and the mineral exploration industry in
general, in particular in light of the impact of the novel
coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease (“COVID-19”) on each of the
foregoing. In this respect, the Corporation has assumed that
production levels will remain consistent with management’s
expectations, contracted parties provide goods and services on
agreed timeframes, equipment works as anticipated, required
regulatory approvals are received, no unusual geological or
technical problems occur, no material adverse change in the price
of gold occurs and no significant events occur outside of the
Corporation's normal course of business. Forward-looking
information is based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of
management considered reasonable at the date the statements are
made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause
actual events or results to differ materially from those described
in, or implied by, the forward-looking information. These factors
include the impact of general business and economic conditions,
risks related to COVID-19 on the Company, global liquidity and
credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of
assets and liabilities based on projected future conditions,
anticipated metal production, fluctuating metal prices, currency
exchange rates, estimated ore grades, possible variations in ore
grade or recovery rates, changes in accounting policies, changes in
Victoria's corporate resources, changes in project parameters as
plans continue to be refined, changes in development and production
time frames, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated
costs and expenses, uncertainty of mineral reserve and mineral
resource estimates, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labour
and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general
risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or
processes to operate as anticipated, final pricing for metal sales,
unanticipated results of future studies, seasonality and
unanticipated weather changes, costs and timing of the development
of new deposits, success of exploration activities, requirements
for additional capital, permitting time lines, government
regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated
reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, limitations on
insurance coverage and timing and possible outcomes of pending
litigation and labour disputes, risks related to remote operations
and the availability of adequate infrastructure, fluctuations in
price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for
mining operations. Although Victoria has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual actions, events or
results to differ materially from those described in, or implied
by, the forward-looking information, there may be other factors
that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated,
estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that
forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The
forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the
purpose of assisting investors in understanding Victoria's expected
financial and operational performance and Victoria's plans and
objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. All
forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the
date hereof, as the case may be, and is based upon the opinions and
estimates of management and information available to management of
the Corporation as at the date hereof. The Corporation undertakes
no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information
contained herein and the documents incorporated by reference
herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.
For Further Information
Contact:John McConnellPresident & CEOVictoria Gold
Corp.Tel: 604-696-6605ceo@vgcx.com
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