The first of the three new gold mines to go into production this year will be Ascot Resources' Premier underground gold mine | Ascot Resources
Premier mine – low volume and high grade
The first of the three new gold mines to go into production will be the Premier underground gold mine near Stewart, B.C. Ascot Resources is aiming to pour first gold by the first quarter of 2024. The capital cost of the project is $300 million, and much of the new works are already built or nearing completion.
The mine is located within Nisga’a treaty lands. An agreement with the Nisga’a provides the First Nation with cash payments, training, employment and business opportunities. Sprott Streaming is helping to finance the mine with a US$110 million gold and silver streaming agreement.
The Premier gold mine has been mined since the early 1900s, most recently as an open-pit operation until the late 1990s, so a lot of the infrastructure needed to operate a mine is in place.
“We have a lot of strategic infrastructure advantages that a greenfield site doesn’t have,” said Ascot CEO Derek White. “That’s why we’re able to go much quicker. We’re benefiting from all the historical infrastructure.”
Ascot has designed a hub-and-spoke approach, with one central mill near the historical Premier mine site, and four distinct deposits, all to be mined underground. The furthest deposit is 44 kilometres away by road.
Since a lot of the infrastructure is already in place, most of the capital investment has been in refurbishing the mill and a tailings pond and water treatment system.
“In 2023, the big things for us are putting in a new state-of-the-art water treatment plant,” White said.
Ascot expects the mine to produce 150,000 ounces a year, with average grades of 7.5 grams of gold per tonne. To put that in context, Blackwater’s average annual production would be just under 400,000 ounces per year with gold grades of 0.75 grams per tonne.
“These are high-grade underground deposits,” White said. “So small volume, high grade.”
Ascot will be ramping up to about 200 workers this summer. Once in operation, the mine will employ 230 to 250 miners. While some of the miners may live in camp at the site, others may end up living in Stewart, B.C., White said.