Resource World Magazine

J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 9 www.resourceworld.com 51 WITH CONSTRUCTION continuing through the winter, com- mercial gold production is a little closer at Victoria Gold Corp.'s [VIT-TSXV] 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold property in central Yukon, approximately 375 km north of Whitehorse and 85 km from the town of Mayo (and its airport). The year-round road-accessible property is connected to Yukon Energy's electrical grid. The Eagle gold mine will be Yukon's next, and largest, operating gold mine. The Eagle and Olive deposits include proven and prob - able reserves of 2.7 million ounces of gold in 123 million tonnes grading 0.67 g/t, as outlined in a 2016 NI 43-101 Feasibility Study. As of December 2018, the Eagle and Olive Resource Estimates have 208 million tonnes averaging 0.66 g/t gold, containing 4.4 million ounces of gold measured and indicated, inclusive of proven and probable reserves, and a further 20 million tonnes averaging 0.64 g/t gold, containing 400,000 ounces of gold inferred. The 440-person camp is at capacity and project construction is over 90% complete. That includes earthworks, concrete work and lining of the leach pad. The 69 kV powerline and site-wide 13.8 kV power distribution is finished. The powerline to site will be energized early May and used for commissioning and operations. Structural steel is 90% complete with mechanical and electrical installations 80% complete. Meanwhile, the overland conveyor system, which takes crushed ore 1.4 km across the valley to the heap leach facility, is ahead of schedule. Pre-production mining is underway and the primary crusher and gold recovery plant have been handed over to the com - missioning team with the secondary/tertiary crusher to be commissioned in May. The mine is a simple, low-cost, heap leach, open pit operation with well understood metallurgy. First ore to the heap leach pad is planned for July with the first gold pour expected to be early Q4 2019. Heap leach gold extraction technology has proven itself in northern regions. Average production is anticipated to be approximately 200,000 ounces per year at a cash cost of less than US $550/oz. The all-in sustaining costs, including royalties, are estimated to be less than US $750/oz over a 10-year mine life. John McConnell, President and CEO, told Resource World, "We have assembled a great team of people on site with over 25 con - tractors engaged to bring the Eagle Gold Mine into production. We are pleased with progress and we have the operations team in place to deliver Canada's next gold mine." He added, "With construction activities on the verge of comple- tion and operations well advanced, the Eagle Gold Mine is nearing reality. The mine is ahead of schedule and ready to deliver tremen- dous value for all Victoria stakeholders for years to come." Procurement of all major equipment is 100% complete with all overweight loads delivered to site. Site infrastructure is complete. The primary crusher install is complete and will be fully pre-com- missioned shortly. The MSE retaining wall for the primary crusher is ahead of schedule and about 65% complete, enabling full com- missioning of the primary crusher well ahead of schedule. The secondary and tertiary crushing facility structural steel is substan- tially complete. Mechanical progress is nearing completion. Development of the main haul road into the open pit is complete. The first in-pit production bench development began in March. To date, pre-production mining is ahead of schedule and below budgeted costs. Work is being done using the Caterpillar mine fleet of haul trucks, dozers, an excavator, a grader and two production shovels. First ore is expected to be delivered to the heap leach pad early in calendar Q3 2019 which provides sufficient ore capac - ity through 2020 and into 2021. All major construction activities at the gold recovery plant are complete and pre-commission is approximately 65% complete. Victoria Gold has attracted Yukoners with mining experience working elsewhere to return home. Of the ~440 people on site, about 35% are from the Yukon, with many from the local First Nation of Na-cho Nyak Dun, and surrounding communities. About 30% are women. Recruitment of the operations team is advancing with a current head count of approximately 164 personnel. About 45% of the operations team are Yukoners, including several First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun citizens. Victoria Gold is targeting at least 50% Yukon residents to fill 260 jobs by year end. Victoria Gold's shareholders include Orion Mine Finance, Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. [OR-TSX, NYSE], Sun Valley, Electrum and Kinross Gold Corp. [K-TSX; KGC-NYSE, among others. n Construction of the mill at Victoria Gold's Eagle gold mine in the Yukon is nearly complete. Photo courtesy Victoria Gold Corp. Victoria Gold's Eagle Mine construction nearly complete by Ellsworth Dickson MINING

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