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MAP GO M
A JV with C
MINING | MAPLE GOLD MINES
LE OLD INES
Canada’s largest gold producer bodes well for this explorer in the Abitibi
When Osisko Mining started exploration drilling at the site of some past-producing underground gold mines near the Canadian town of Malartic back in 2008, there was very little expectation from the industry that they could succeed in applying an open pit, bulk mining concept to the lower grade material left near surface. But fast forward to 2021 and Canadian Malartic is now the largest gold-producing mine in Canada after Osisko outlined a near-surface, lower grade bulk tonnage deposit; built the project (which involved moving parts of the town of Malartic); and sold it for C$3.9 billion to a joint venture (JV) comprised of Agnico Eagle Mines and Yamana Gold in 2014. This lower grade but exceptionally large tonnage operation has generated huge profits for both parties over the last seven years and fuelled a search for similar scenarios across the Abitibi greenstone belt, which has yielded over 200 million ounces (Moz) of gold and counting. In the case of Agnico Eagle, their search brought them to Maple Gold Mines – a TSXV-listed gold explorer which controlled the Douay project - a 2.77 Moz gold resource in the same broad geological region of Québec as the Canadian Malartic mine. After two years of due diligence and in-depth analysis of an immense library of existing drill cores at Douay, Agnico signed a 50/50 JV with Maple Gold in February 2021. Agnico will fund C$18.25 million in exploration expenditures over the next four years for the JV to jointly explore a 400 km² property package that includes both Maple’s Douay project as well as its own past-producing Joutel project, located directly South of Douay, with the aim of establishing a new gold camp in the Abitibi.
Attracting Agnico
ago following a +12-year
management personnel to
“Agnico got involved in our
career at Ivanhoe Mines,
comprise a ‘formidable team’
project because of the existing
where he worked closely with
by Hornor’s estimations.
resource there. But that’s where
legendary mine builder Robert
the story begins, not where
Friedland. Since then, he has
One of the first things Hornor
it ends,” states Maple Gold’s
added technical, strategic
and his team did was to
president and CEO Matthew
and financial expertise from
elevate the quality of previous
Hornor.
major companies such as
technical work to major
First Quantum, Inmet Mining,
mining company standards.
Hornor joined the Maple
Wheaton Precious Metals and
This included the transition
Gold team almost four years
Ivanplats across Maple’s key
from outsourcing technical
MINING | MAPLE GOLD MINES
work to the establishment of an in-house technical team, the build of a new 45-person camp and the delivery of a more conservative updated resource estimate at Douay. It was through this approach that Agnico was drawn to the table, along with the tremendous resource expansion potential that exists at the Douay property package.
“The upside potential is massive. We’ve only scraped the surface with the current resource and if you look at the profile of our current resources versus the depth of known mineralisation at other significant producing mines in Québec, we still have more than a kilometre of room beneath our current resource to search for the plumbing of the mineralised system. “The depth potential at Douay is just one part of the
MA P LE G O LD MIN ES AT A G L A N C E
STOCK TICKER: TSXV:MGM MARKET CAPITALISATION: US$106.4 million (as of May 27, 2021) aj
MINING | MAPLE GOLD MINES
growth profile, we have been
incredible partner supporting
They are the number one
leveraging a new 3D model to
us on this endeavour.”
company on Earth for gold
target lateral extensions and
mining in this jurisdiction.”
link existing zones where there
Growing Douay
is geological support to do so.
Maple’s president and CEO
The project currently has an
makes it explicitly clear
inferred resource of 71.2 Mt at
“We believe there is potential
that the JV’s goal at Douay
1.03 g/t gold for 2.35 million
to define a district-scale gold
is to grow the resource
ounces, with a cut-off grade
resource at Douay and the
into an eventual open pit
of 0.45 g/t for in-pit resources
opportunity to discover new
operation with a subsequent
and 1.0 g/t for underground
high-grade gold deposits
underground expansion
resources.
across our large land package
component, much like the
isn’t lost on us either, so we are
Canadian Malartic. “Agnico
Following the Maple-Agnico
actively building a queue of
understands that type of
JV announcement earlier this
priority discovery drill targets
geology, which has been wildly
year, a resource expansion
and are excited to have an
profitable for them in Québec.
programme commenced in and around the Douay mineral resource area, with a +10,000 metres drill campaign completed in April. The winter campaign sought to add extra resources through step-out drilling around resource zones as well as through discovery drilling outside of the resource area. The campaign also included select infill drilling aimed at upgrading a portion of resources into a higher resource category. Following completion of the programme
agree that potential remains
interpretation of assay results,
Rediscovering Joutel
Maple Gold expects to publish
The Joutel project is a 39 km²
beyond the old Telbel mine
an updated resource estimate
property located immediately
workings, but also for
sometime in the second half of
South of the Douay project.
near-surface, higher grade
2021.
The project hosted Agnico’s
mineralisation to be found
high-grade, past-producing
above and around the old
“The JV intends to grow the
Telbel Mining Camp, which
Telbel mine.
resource a bit further from
produced gold between 1974
here before we initiate more
and 1993 – when the gold price
The Joutel property has seen
comprehensive economic
ranged between US$150-$360
very little exploration since
assessment work, but I think
per ounce.
the early 1990s when the
along with receipt and
on a go-forward basis it’s quite
not only for depth extensions
mine was still in production
exciting. And we haven’t even
With gold prices now trading
and historical drill data for
talked much about Joutel yet.”
at roughly US$1,890 per ounce,
thousands of holes was stored
Maple Gold and Agnico both
on paper records which had not been digitised…until now.
MINING | MAPLE GOLD MINES
MINING | MAPLE GOLD MINES
“As everyone knows, the best
through countless boxes
price. “Undiluted gold grades
place to build a new mine
of analog drill core data to
at the mine when it was in
is in the shadow of an old
complete the digitisation
production were often North
headframe. In short, we think
effort. Hornor stresses the
of 10 g/t, with a diluted
mineralisation remains open
importance of this exercise in
average grade of 6.5 g/t. It was
for us to pursue with improved
terms of getting a consensus
profitable for almost 20 years
knowledge and modern
on what has been defined so
at prices below $360 gold.
exploration approaches. We
that the companies can look
are digitising all that analog
to focus in on target areas that
“So, we love the idea that we
data and will be coming out
might lead to new resource
have not only massive resource
with a Leapfrog 3D model,
definition in the future.
growth potential with Douay,
which is going to show the
but also this past-producing
market why we’re so excited
One of the biggest strengths
project at Joutel which we
about that project.”
of the Joutel project is the fact
think has a lot of untapped
that it was a past producer
higher grade potential.”
Several months have passed
during a time when gold
since the JV began working
was sold at a sixth of today’s
MINING | MAPLE GOLD MINES
The next gold story in Canada
Hornor reveals that over the
shareholder value. This is
coming months investors will
the way we behave and the
The ultimate goal at Maple is
start to see significant news
type of ship I like to run here.
to establish a new Abitibi gold
flow coming out from both
Ultimately, our aim is to drive
mining camp underpinned
projects. This will include
the next big gold story in
by the large, lower grade
results from the 10,000 metres
Canada and we’re aptly named
bulk tonnage near-surface
winter 2021 drill programme
as such.”
deposit at Douay along with its
and an updated resource
associated higher grade deeper estimate at Douay, results from feeder zones; the high-grade
digitisation work at Joutel and
gold resource that may exist
details of an upcoming drill
at Telbel; and potential new
campaign.
discoveries of different types of gold-rich mineralisation
“Every day we wake up
across the entire combined
thinking of how we can drive
Douay and Joutel properties.
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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