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A feasibility study on Pretium Resources’ Brucejack project in northern British Columbia has turned up positive results, the company announced Wednesday.
Pretium (NYSE:PVG) soared 5.8% to $8.37 on the news, affording the company a $864 million market value. Like most stocks in the sector it’s showing heavy losses for the year – even after today’s gains it’s down 35% in 2013.
Pretium is particularly excited over its Valley of the Kings deposit, which showed probable mineral reserves of 6.6 million ounces of gold.
A lower grade deposit, West Zone, will be developed in the second half of the mine’s 22-year life span. Overall, Brucejack is expected to produce approximately 7.1 million ounces of gold as well as 31.6 million ounces of silver.
The study anticipates the mine will yield more than 400,000 ounces of gold annually during its first 10 years.
The feasibility study follows the first drill results from early last month, which put the Vancouver-based company firmly on investors’ radar.
Capital costs on the Brucejack project are estimated at $663.5 million, which includes funding fors a 50 kilometer-long transmission line.
Pretium hopes to begin mine construction in the second half of 2014.
The Brucejack project is one of Pretium’s two ambitions in northern British Columbia – the other being Snowfield, which has been put on the back-burner while the company focuses its efforts on Brucejack.
Creative Commons image by Chris Williamson
