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Canada

Goldfields Project

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StagePermitting
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Project has a valid development permit for an open-pit mine and mill development is expected to facilitate the timeline towards construction and operations.

Updates to the environmental baseline will be required and changes to the Project, to that which was assessed, will require some additional assessment. Fortune Bay intends to obtain approvals to these changes through an application submitted in accordance with Section 16 of the Provincial Assessment Act.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Fortune Bay Corp. 100 % Indirect
Goldfields is owned by 7153945 Canada Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortune Bay.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

The Project includes the Box and Athona gold deposits, as well as other gold occurrences discovered during historical exploration. Deposit Type The Box and Athona gold mineralization shows many characteristics which support their classification as orogenic gold deposits. These include a regional association with an orogenic fold belt (Trans-Hudson Orogen), quartz-vein or fracture dominated ore systems within a brittle structural regime, and association with sulphides (albeit very low levels 0.5%). A distinctive first-order, deep-crustal structure is not obviously apparent at Goldfields, however the Black Bay fault provides a possible candidate that may have acted as the primary fluid pathway (pers. comm. R. Uken). The alteration assemblage at Box and Athona is atypical for orogenic gold deposits which may suggest the deposits represent a hybrid model. Yule et al. (2016) proposed the deposits closely resemble an oxidized intrusion-related (porphyry) gold setting which was largely based on the interpretation that veining was coeval with emplacement/formation of the Mine Granites, and the alteration zonation observed is typical of gold-rich porphyry style deposits. Recent petrographic study (SRK, 2021b) indicates the gold mineralization is epigenetic, post-dating the mine granites and an earlier hematite alteration event. This conclusion is supported by a structural analysis of the Box deposit by Roberts (1988) that demonstrated that the mineralized vein system was emplaced during deformation that affected (postdated) the emplacement of the host Mine Granites. Furthermore. the age and erosion-level of the country rocks in northern Saskatchewan suggest preservation of a porphyry-system would be unlikely. Further study involving characterization of the ore fluids and alteration assemblages may assist in better defining the deposit model. Mineralization The Box and Athona deposits, located approximately two kilometres apart, share many similarities which suggest a close genetic association. The Box deposit lies on western limb, and the Athona deposit within the hinge, of a major open synclinal structure termed the ‘Goldfields Syncline’. This fold is an open, upright NNE trending, shallowly plunging synform, the closure of which is defined by changes in orientation of the main regional foliation. Mineralization characteristics at Box and Athona are similar, comprising quartz vein sets hosted within a metamorphosed and hematized leucogranite, respectively termed the Box and Athona “Mine Granites”. Protoliths of these units are uncertain. Early models for the origin of the Box Mine Granite (“BMG”) included an intrusive model (Jewitt and Gray, 1940) and a metasedimentary model (Swanson, 1938, quoted in Appleyard, 1989). Rees (1992) described the Box and Athona Mine Granites as intrusives, formed as nearly in-situ melts in the presence of metasomatic fluids. More recently, Jensen (2003) describes the BMG as a variably granitized and hematized sequence of metasedimentary lithologies and the Athona Mine Granite (“AMG”) as representing either a multi-intrusive with variable composition or a metamorphosed sequence of sedimentary lithologies. These model descriptions were presented in previous technical reports by Bikerman et al. (2007) and by Lusby et al. (2011). Irrespective of the genetic model, the Mine Granites are the primary hosts to gold mineralization, likely due to a relatively brittle response to deformation, in contrast to more ductile hanging- and footwall lithologies. This resulted in the preferential development of pervasive quartz veining in the granite hosts and associated precipitation of sulphides and gold. The immediate hangingwall (1 to 3 m) to the BMG comprises sheared metasedimentary gneisses and schists that may contain high densities of quartz veins, and some auriferous veins, however these are not continuous across the BMG hangingwall surface and not present in sufficient size or density to justify further targeting. Mineralization at both the Box and Athona deposits is strongly structurally controlled and associated with a network of milky white quartz veins that have an average N-S trend and moderate to steep westerly dips. Vein population subset orientations include NNW, NNE and WNW trends with the NNW set dominant at Box and the NNE set dominant at Athona (SRK, 2021). In a petrographic study undertaken by SRK (2020(b) and 2021) it was noted that gold is typically associated with early coarse pyrite in quartz veins, and is commonly found in fractures within pyrite, at pyrite-quartz grain boundaries, and less commonly as small spherical inclusions within pyrite and in adjacent vein quartz (Figure 7-5). Partial or complete replacement alteration and oxidation of pyrite has produced acicular hematite which is commonly intergrown with gold that once occupied fractures in pyrite or was included in the pyrite. Gold is also less commonly found associated with sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena within fractures in pyrite, which may represent a second gold mineralization phase. These descriptions (SRK, 2020(b) and 2021) are consistent with those documented in previous reporting such as Lusby et al. (2011).

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Gold Payable metal koz 834
Gold Metal in doré koz 101835

Operational metrics

Metrics
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* According to 2022 study.

Production Costs

CommodityAverage
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All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Gold  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study / presentation.

Operating Costs

Currency2022
OP mining costs ($/t mined) CAD  ....  Subscribe
OP mining costs ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe
Processing costs ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe
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* According to 2022 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
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Sustaining CapEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Closure costs $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Total CapEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M CAD 341
Refining costs $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
G&A costs $M CAD 115
Total OpEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
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Pre-tax NPV @ 5% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
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Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNamePhoneProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ........... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 19, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 31, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 31, 2022

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2022

Aerial view:

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