Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Probe Gold (TSX: PRB) says it continued to intersected high gold grades during drilling at the Monique deposit, part of the Novador project near Val d’Or, Quebec. Intersections occurred from under and inside the modelled Monique gold zone from surface to a depth of 450 metres.
Infill drilling confirmed gold zones inside and under the potential pit outline with up to 23.1 g/t gold over 3.1 metres, 8.3 g/t over 4 metres, and 1.5 g/t over 20 metres.
Expansion drilling within and around the Monique conceptual pit cut up to 3.4 g/t gold over 16 metres, 4.2 g/t over 14.7 metres, and 1.8 metres over 34 metres.
“Our 2023 Monique expansion program continues to demonstrate impressive results, and improvement, with the majority of the intersections at or above the current resource grade,” said Probe president and CEO David Palmer. “We will now focus on two things, the updated resource, expected later in the year, and the commencement of the 2024 exploration drilling programs.”
He continued, “The most recent PEA has solidified Novador as a robust development project and with our newly acquired exploration projects, Beaufour, McKenzie Break and Croinor, all within trucking distance of the conceptual mill, we plan to initiate exploration programs to continue adding value while simultaneously de-risking the project by expediting the permitting timeline.”
The February 2024 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) done for Novador gives the project an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount of C$910 million and an internal rate of return of 24.4% for a project that would produce an average of 255,000 oz. of gold annually over a 12.6-year life. The initial C$602 million capital requirement would be paid back over 4.4 years (after taxes). The base case used a gold price of $1,750/oz.
Probe has completed 28,000 metres of winter drilling at Novador, and a further 10,000-metre program will begin in May. The company is also advancing its Detour gold project, including regional exploration along its boundary with Agnico Eagle’s (TSX: AEM; NYSE: ARM) Detour Lake gold mine.
