3 minute read
Battle North Gold raises $61 million for Red Lake Bateman Project
By Kevin Vincent
It has been a battle. After a rollercoaster few years in the financial markets, there is renewed optimism for the operators of the Bateman Gold Project near Red Lake. The company has a resource estimate of nearly a million ounces (979,000) and a fresh coat of corporate paint on the doors at head office as “A battle-tested gold developer.”
The Bateman Gold Project is centred within the Red Lake mining district of northwestern Ontario, approximately 565 km by road (430 km direct) northwest of Thunder Bay and approximately 475 km by road (265 km direct) east/northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Notwithstanding the company’s recent past, it managed to raise over $61 million to move forward. Ogilvie is the former president of Kirkland Lake Gold.
“We believe the new name provides a fresh look at the company’s potential to create value. Fueled by our perseverance and determination, we have significantly derisked and advanced our shovelready Bateman Gold Project in Red Lake,” added Ogilvie in a summer 2020 news release.
The company announced the name change from Rubicon Minerals to Battle North on July 7th. Battle North says it has the second largest exploration ground package in the Red Lake region.
“We are now just months away from the completion of the Feasibility Study for the Project, the results of which, we believe, are highly anticipated and closely watched by our investors and the many that follow the company. This will be the maiden Feasibility Study (which will include Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimates) for the Bateman Gold Project and is a significant milestone warranting the re-branding of the company.”
The company says it is on schedule to release the feasibility study in the second half of 2020.
“In addition, we are pleased with the progress of our multi-faceted exploration programs. We have completed more than 8,000 metres of orientated drilling at the Bateman Gold Project since the data cut-off date of the NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate in January, targeting the conversion of the Inferred Mineral Resource estimates at depth into the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource categories at the F2 Gold Zone. We have also commenced infill drilling at the McFinley and Pen Zones, both of which are within 550 metres from the Bateman Gold Project existing infrastructure, including a production shaft and a permitted milling facility. All of our current exploration programs are designed with the intent to add incremental mill feed to our operational 1,800-tonne-perday, state-of-the-art mill facility. We expect to release the details of our exploration results in the coming weeks.”
Battle North is currently evaluat- ing quotes from vendors for various surface and underground work and equipment, including tailings management facility upgrades, underground development and ammonia treatment plant construction.
The project was halted in 2015 after it rushed into production without a complete understanding of the underground operation’s complexities.
Preliminary Economic Assessment: The company delivered a robust PEA that demonstrated an after-tax internal rate of return and net present value of 40.2% and C$135.2 million, respectively, based on a US$1,325 per ounce gold price assumption. The PEA contemplated at 6.2 year conceptual life of mine plan (“LOM”) averaging 79,610 ounces of conceptual gold production per year and an average all-in sustaining cost (“AISC”) of US$882 per ounce during the commercial production period.
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