Marathon Gold Investing in Newfoundland & Labrador Marathon Gold Investing in Newfoundland & Labrador
TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Gold Corporation (“Marathon” or the “Company”; TSX: MOZ) is pleased to provide an update on the ongoing project development activities at the Valentine Gold Project in central Newfoundland (the ‘Project”), with a specific focus on employment and procurement within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (“NL”).
Marathon’s April 2021 Feasibility Study for the Project demonstrates robust economics for a conventional open pit mining and milling operation with a C$305 million initial capital cost. Over a projected 17 years of construction, operations, and closure, annual direct employment is expected to reach over 400 persons, with substantial economic spin-offs and indirect employment based on estimated operating and sustaining capital expenditures of over C$2 billion.
An Environmental Assessment (“EA”) with federal and provincial regulators is ongoing, based on an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) filed in September 2020. Two rounds of technical information requests based on the EIS have been completed with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (“IAAC”) and responses provided to comments received from the NL Environmental Assessment Committee (“EAC”). An NL Benefits Agreement, containing a Human Resources Plan and a Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan, and establishing commitments for NL employment and procurement, and economic opportunities for under-represented groups, is expected to be finalized shortly. Cooperation Agreements have been concluded with the six central Newfoundland communities located closest to the Project, identifying the interests of each community in employment, business opportunities, community investment, and environmental protection. A Socio-Economic Agreement (“SEA”) has been completed with Qalipu First Nation, addressing matters such as access to employment and contracting opportunities, education and training, environmental stewardship and monitoring, and community investment. A Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Miawpukek First Nation has been entered into, providing guidance for ongoing engagement, the completion of a Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Land and Resource Use Study, and the negotiation of an SEA.
An assessment of the Project’s acceptability, along with any conditions of release from the EA, will be made by each governmental regulator. In the case of the province, conclusion of the EA takes the form of a recommendation made by the Environmental Assessment Division of the Department of Environment and Climate Change (“DECC”) for the Minister’s acceptance, who then issues a request for Cabinet approval. A parallel process occurs at the federal level. Activity-specific construction permits can be obtained from the relevant regulatory departments once the EA process has concluded. The timeline for EA release remains subject to any additional requests for information or extensions of the technical review period. On the basis that EA release will be achieved within the fourth quarter of this year, Marathon is pursuing team development, procurement, and detailed engineering with a view to receiving sufficient permits and commencing site construction activities early in 2022. Highlights of this work are as follows:
- Employment. 154 persons are currently employed or contracted to Marathon and/or the Project on a full-time basis, of which 86% are residents of NL and 22% are residents of the Project’s six closest communities of Millertown, Buchans, Buchans Junction, Badger, Grand Falls-Windsor and Bishop’s Falls.
- Procurement. Construction packages valued at C$118 million have been awarded in the areas of mobile mining equipment, drilling equipment, earthworks, camp accommodations, camp services, bridge repair, security, and tree cutting. Of these packages, Newfoundland and Labrador sourced goods and services comprise 55% of the total by value, or 88% when the value of mobile mining and drilling equipment manufactured outside NL is excluded. Procurement is ongoing in the areas of fuel supply and storage, power supply, tire supply, crushing and screening, operational readiness, medical services, communications, explosive supply, recruitment services, and waste management.
- Detailed Engineering. A control budget and schedule for baselining project construction progress will be completed by year-end, at which point detailed engineering progress is forecast to reach approximately 40%. Design work is ongoing under the supervision of Marathon’s project execution team in the areas of tailings facility design (Golder Associates Ltd.), site water management (Stantec Consulting Ltd.), site geotechnical investigation (GEMTEC Consulting Engineers and Scientists Ltd.), pit geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations (Terrane Geoscience Inc.), and powerline design (NL Hydro). Detailed engineering for the Project’s mill and major facilities is being undertaken by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. under an MOU for a fixed-price Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) contract to be finalized later this year. The EPC contract is expected to cover approximately 50% of the scope of the Project.
- Current Site Activities. In addition to Marathon’s ongoing exploration programs, current site activities comprise continuing environmental baseline studies, ongoing geotechnical and hydrological investigation, and seasonal road maintenance. A permanent camp of 420 beds has been acquired and is currently enroute to a staging area in the community of Badger where it will undergo refurbishment prior to delivery to the site once approvals are received. Camp capacity is currently limited to 64 persons.
Marathon is committed to developing the Valentine Gold Project in a sustainable and responsible manner, ensuring that best practice environmental protection measures are employed, and that employment and business opportunities are maximized in Newfoundland and Labrador, and for women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minority groups.
Qualified Persons
Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release has been approved by Mr. Tim Williams, FAusIMM, Chief Operating Officer of Marathon, Mr. Paolo Toscano, P.Eng. (Ont.), Vice President, Projects for Marathon, and Mr. James Powell, P.Eng. (NL), Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs for Marathon. Mr. Williams, Mr. Toscano and Mr. Powell are qualified persons under National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101.
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