Alamos Gold announced the completion of the first phase of expansion at its Island Gold Mine in northeastern Ontario.
The company reported the successful commissioning of its mill which is now operating at 1,100 tonnes per day (tpd), up from its previous capacity of 900.
This increased capacity is intended to reflect an increase in average annual production rates to 125,000 ounces of gold starting in 2019.
“The completion of the Phase l expansion represents another significant step forward in the growth and evolution of the Island Gold Mine,” said Alamos Gold president-CEO John McCluskey in a Sept.20 news release.
“We expect higher grades and throughput to drive significant production and free cash flow growth from the operation over the next year.”
The $23-million expansion was outlined by Richmont Mines in a May 2017 expansion case preliminary economic assessment before Island Gold was acquired by Alamos in November 2017.
The Island Gold Mine sits within the Michipicoten greenstone belt and began production in October 2007. It's located 83 kilometres northeast of Wawa and is just west of the town of Dubreuilville.
Known as one of Canada’s highest grade and lowest cost operations, the company continues to add ounces as a result of its $18-million exploration program this year.
In early September, the company reported across-the-board increases and upgrades in mineral resources and reserves in all categories.
Alamos announced a 99 per cent increase in measured and indicated resources from last December’s numbers of an estimated 111,000 ounces to 221,000 ounces as of June 30. Gold grades jumped 40 per cent to 8.18 grams per tonne.
The inferred mineral resource increased 30 per cent to 1,180,000 ounces with grades inching up 5 per cent to 9.99 grams per tonne.
The company has also appointed Chris Rockingham at its vice-president of exploration.
He brings more than 30 years of exploration experience focused on precious and base metal deposits in in North and South America. More recently, Rockingham held the same title with AuRico Metals where he played a key role in the exploration program, environmental assessment approval, and impact benefit agreements for the Kemess Underground project in north-central British Columbia.
Before that, he was with Northgate Minerals (now owned by Alamos) that identified, explored and development the Young-Davidson Mine near Matachewan.
