British Columbia’s newest greenfield gold mine – the Blackwater mine near Prince George – has marked another milestone with the purchase of C$134 million worth of mine trucks, graders and other heavy equipment.
Artemis Gold Inc. (TSX-V:ARTG) is ramping up construction on the new open-pit gold mine, which the company has projected will be in production by the second half of 2024.
Artemis announced Thursday its has put in a purchase order with Finning Canada for a new mining fleet.
“It is another milestone in our plans to develop the mine and prepare for operations in H2 2024,” Artemis Gold CEO Steven Dean said in a press release.
The equipment ordered includes Caterpillar excavators, dozers, graders, front-end loaders and haul trucks. The total purchase order is worth $134 million, the company said. The company has the option to buy zero-emission haul trucks later this decade for fleet expansions.
“As part of the envisaged future fleet expansion the company has the option to purchase zero emission haul trucks currently under development for shipments beginning in 2029,” the company said. “The transition to a zero-emission haulage fleet will substantially reduce the mine’s carbon footprint. That combined with the mine’s electrified processing facility and infrastructure will create the potential to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.”
The company is expecting to start taking deliveries of equipment and vehicles late in the fourth quarter this year.
“The entire fleet is expected be ‘shovel ready’ during the second half of 2024 … to meet Artemis Gold’s operational readiness objectives,” the company said.
With an initial capital cost of C$645 million – and up to C$1.4 billion total over a 22-year mine life – Artemis Gold’s Blackwater open-pit gold mine south of Vanderhoof will be largest new mine built in the region in more than a decade.
(This article first appeared in Business in Vancouver)
