- Gold explorer and near-term producer LaFleur Minerals has hired global environmental consultant firm Environmental Resources Management (“ERM”) to provide a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) that for the company’s restart of gold production at its Beacon Gold Mill in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt
- LaFleur wholly-owns the Beacon Gold Mill and a nearby exploration operation in Canada’s largest gold-producing district, providing the foundation of a vertically integrated resource that also includes a fully permitted tailings storage facility
- The company’s recent fully subscribed equity offering and other planned financing opportunities will deliver the capital needed for the expected launch of gold production anticipated for early next year
- LaFleur has already begun diamond drilling on the significantly sized 18,304-hectare (45,230-acre) Swanson site, with assays showing high-grade, near-surface intercepts, and “twinning” definition drilling is expected to provide confident updated mineral resource confirmation
The recent announcement that sustainable mining consultancy Environmental Resources Management (“ERM”) will provide technical expertise for a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) of gold explorer LaFleur Minerals’ (CSE: LFLR) (OTCQB: LFLRF) core assets for the purpose of restarting its fully permitted Beacon Gold Mill, using mineralized material from the nearby Swanson Gold Deposit in Val-d’Or, in the Abitibi greenstone belt, underscoring the strong potential of the Quebec operation.
LaFleur Minerals’ Swanson Gold Deposit, only 60 km from the company’s gold mill, is located in Canada’s largest gold-producing district and has already shown high-grade, near-surface intercepts from diamond core holes drilled on the approximately 18,304-hectare (45,230-acre) district-scale site.
ERM’s Technical Mining Services Group, based in Ontario, will oversee the technical study and report on Swanson’s mineral resource estimate update, open-pit mine plan, and ore-sorting and metallurgical testing programs, as well as the expected costs of resuming the operation of the company’s nearby Beacon Gold Mill, according to an Oct. 6 news release (https://ibn.fm/CQvi9).
LaFleur obtained the mill at a bargain price after the site’s previous operator refurbished it with over $20 million worth of upgrades. The mill forms a key element of LaFleur’s vertically integrated setup, which includes a fully permitted tailings storage facility, ability to expand production capacity, several previously explored prospects rich in gold and critical metals, and easily accessible-by-road transport infrastructure.
Those assets distinguish LaFleur from single-facet junior gold exploration companies. While the company intends to use the mill to process ore from the Swanson site by early next year, it also anticipates the potential of building near-term revenue if it reaches agreement with a number of other nearby operators’ gold projects to perform custom toll milling contracts on their behalf as high gold prices create a sense of market urgency.
The mill is capable of processing over 750 metric tons per day and is in a state of readiness after last operating in 2022, requiring only some equipment upgrades that will be advanced by a non-brokered private placement equity round of financing completed last month alongside a financing led by FMI Securities Inc.
At the time the mill was last in operation under the former owner, gold prices had fallen to $1,600 an ounce in the pandemic-recovery economy. Gold has since reached record territory, recently topping $4,000 an ounce, which highlights the opportunity LaFleur sees before it.
The first 100,000 tonnes of material taken from what is planned as an open-pit mining project will be processed as a bulk sample at the Beacon Gold Mill, reducing project risk related to costs and recovery in the buildup to project readiness.
“We think we are strongly aligned with both strong investor appetite for safe, secure, and high-quality assets and favorable market timing … as we advance the Swanson Gold Deposit with near-term production potential,” CEO Paul Ténière stated in the news release.
For more information, visit the company’s website at LaFleurMinerals.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LFLRF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/LFLRF
Qualified Person Statement:
All scientific and technical information contained in this article has been reviewed and approved by Louis Martin, P.Geo. (OGQ), Exploration Manager and Technical Advisor of the company and considered a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101.
