Mining News
Start date for British Columbia's largest gold mine is 2024
 |
Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! |
(Kitco News) - British Columbia’s largest gold mine is under construction and slated for the first gold pour in the second half of 2024, said Steven Dean, chairman and CEO of Artemis Gold.
Dean spoke to Kitco mid-September at the Precious Metals Summit 2023 held in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
He cited two advantages of developing a mine in B.C., which has not always been mining-friendly: electricity, and the Canadian dollar.
"The cost of power is one of the world's lowest, certainly in a Tier 1 jurisdiction, at around CAD$0.06 to $0.07 a kilowatt hour. That would put it at one of the lowest in the world in first-class jurisdictions and then of course the other aspect is that 98-99 percent of the energy source is hydro, which is green power," Dean said.
"The exchange rate between the US dollar and the Canadian dollar also provides some relief to margin compression."
While gold companies have received less attention from politicians than firms exploring for critical minerals, Dean said Artemis Gold is "getting points with government" in the social and environmental areas.
"We remain very unique in that we can bring jobs training and support particularly to indigenous communities, which no other industry can," Dean said. "We’re creating economic value which we're sharing with the communities — indigenous and non-indigenous — and we're creating that value through a largely green-based business."
Dean noted Artemis Gold has an option to acquire an electrified mining and haulage fleet from Caterpillar, which would reduce its direct emissions to almost zero.
Kitco Mining’s coverage of the Precious Metals Summit 2023 was sponsored by Newcore Gold.
|
|
Lawrence Lepard, founder of Equity Management Associates, on why gold companies have performed poorly |
