The Northern Miner December 25 2017 Issue

Page 1

FIRST QUANTUM MINERALS: OPTIONS NORTHERN DYNASTY’S PEBBLE / 3 Geotech_Earlug_2016_Alt2.pdf 1 2016-06-24 4:27:20 PM

SPECIAL FOCUS

OUTLOOK 2018

What the future could bring for gold, copper, nickel, cobalt and more / 9–14

VTEM™ | ZTEM™ | Gravity | Magnetics 905 841 5004 | geotech.ca

DECEMBER 25, 2017-JANUARY 7, 2018 / VOL. 103 ISSUE 26 / GLOBAL MINING NEWS · SINCE 1915 / $3.99 / WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM

Victoria explores the blue sky at Eagle SITE VISIT

| Junior outlines new gold trend at Dublin Gulch in Yukon

BY LESLEY STOKES lstokes@northernminer.com DAWSON CITY, YUKON

M&A

| Consolidation, cost saving in South African PGMs

M

ost geologists wouldn’t even strike a hammer against the discovery outcrop for Victoria Gold’s (TSXV: VIT; US-OTC: VITFF) Eagle gold deposit, 49 km northeast of Mayo, Yukon. The granitic rock face jutting out of a road cut has little more than a few thin veins going through it, providing little indication of the 4 million oz. gold entombed below. It’s why countless gold panners and explorers who trudged through the area for more than a century kept largely to the rivers that incise the valley. Over 150,000 oz. placer gold was recovered, enough to establish its reputation as one of the most productive placer drainages in the Yukon. Now, almost three decades since Eagle’s discovery, Toronto-based Victoria Gold is well on its way of putting the deposit into production, having secured a US$220-million facility in July to build the mine. As construction unfolds, the aspiring miner has returned some attention to exploration, uncovering what appears to be a flock of Eaglelike deposits over a 30 km strike length called the Potato Hills trend. “We’re not just a one-trick pony — there’s more here than just Eagle,” Paul Gray, Victoria’s vice-president of exploration, tells a group of investors and writers, including The Northern Miner, while standing over the discovery outcrop during a site visit in July. “We’re looking at targets that can add meaningfully to the proposed mine life at Eagle … I want to find grade, anything a gram and a half on surface.” With the knowledge gained from 80,000 metres of drilling at Eagle,

Sibanye tables US$383M bid for Lonmin BY MATTHEW KEEVIL mkeevil@northernminer.com VANCOUVER

S

outh Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE: SBGL) has launched a US$383-million, all-share bid for debt-heavy peer Lonmin (LON: LMI; US-OTC: LNMIY). If the deal closes, it would be Sibanye’s fourth major acquisition over the past 24 months, and would bring Sibanye’s external acquisition tally to over US$3 billion since early 2015. The companies expect to realize cost savings at contiguous assets and processing facilities to create a “mine-to-market South African See SIBANYE / 8 PM40069240

Victoria Gold vice-president of exploration Paul Gray and geologist Helena Kuikka in July 2017 at the Eagle gold project, 49 km northeast of Mayo, Yukon.   PHOTO BY LESLEY STOKES

Victoria has revised its exploration model to generate targets across its 555 sq. km Dublin Gulch property. Gray says the deposit, which is See VICTORIA / 2

“WE’RE NOT JUST A ONE TRICK PONY — THERE’S MORE HERE THAN JUST EAGLE.” PAUL GRAY VICE-PRESIDENT OF EXPLORATION, VICTORIA GOLD

Jan 22-25, 2018 Sign up now at roundup.amebc.ca

TOREX GOLD: SUSPENDS WORK CONTRACTS AMID BLOCKADE / 5

1-16, 23_DEC25_Main .indd 1

2017-12-19 8:36 PM


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The Northern Miner December 25 2017 Issue by The Northern Miner Group - Issuu