The Northern Miner January 7-20 2019 Issue 1

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COMMODITIES: SCOTIABANK ECONOMIST REVIEWS PERFORMANCE IN 2018 / 5 Geotech_Earlug_2016_Alt2.pdf 1 2016-06-24 4:27:20 PM

SPECIAL FOCUS

BC, YUKON & NWT

Gold, base metals and diamond prospects pique industry interest / 9–16

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Power Ore picks up historic Opemiska complex COPPER

| Quebec mine produced more than 1 billion lb. copper BY RICHARD QUARISA rquarisa@northernminer.com

P Crushers under construction at Victoria Gold’s Eagle gold mine in the Yukon, with the gold-recovery plant in the distance.   VICTORIA GOLD

Victoria’s Eagle clears construction hurdles YUKON

See POWER ORE / 6

| Operations team taking shape for gold mine coming online in 2019

BY DAVID PERRI

A

ower Ore (TSXV: PORE) is buying the Opemiska copper mine complex in Quebec from Explorateurs-Innovateurs de Québec (Ex-In), a private company. Opemiska consists of two pastproducing underground mines operated by Falconbridge from 1953 to 1991. Located near the town of Chapais, Springer and Perry produced 23 million tonnes at 2.4% copper and 0.3 gram gold per tonne. “It was an underground opera-

dperri@northernminer.com

t more than 60% built, mine construction has unfolded mostly as planned at Victoria Gold’s (TSXV: VIT) Eagle gold project in the Yukon, according to president and CEO John McConnell. “Mother nature has been the biggest nuisance,” McConnell says in a telephone interview with The Northern Miner. “We had an extremely wet spring, which hampered earthworks. Then we had a very warm fall and start to winter. So we actually got back on track and are probably sitting about a month ahead of schedule.”

Earthworks, concrete, leach pad and liner systems are complete. “The focus now is steel erection and electrical-mechanical. I would say everything is going very well.” McConnell has been with Victoria since it acquired Dublin Gulch (which hosts Eagle) in 2009. He has served as CEO since 2011. Victoria has had no problem attracting a top-notch operations team to Eagle, he says. “There seems to be real excitement about going to work for a small company building a very large mine in Yukon,” he says. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of people we’ve been able to recruit with good operational and northern experience.”

“THERE SEEMS TO BE REAL EXCITEMENT ABOUT GOING TO WORK FOR A SMALL COMPANY BUILDING A VERY LARGE MINE IN YUKON.”

PM40069240

JOHN MCCONNELL PRESIDENT AND CEO, VICTORIA GOLD

McConnell notes that a few months into 2018, more than half of the 450 workers at Eagle were Yukoners, with more than one-third First Nations. “We’re making this Yukon’s project.” The open-pit mine is set to produce 200,000 oz. gold per year over an 11-year mine life, as outlined in a 2016 feasibility study. All-

in sustaining costs are pegged at US$638 per oz. gold. “It shows we have a 10-plus year mine life based on the reserves, but my gut tells me this is a 15- to 20-year mine life.” Geologically, Eagle is underlain by upper Proterozoic to lower PaSee VICTORIA / 2

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FURA GEMS: TABLES COLOMBIAN EMERALD ESTIMATE / 8

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2019-01-04 9:13 PM


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