Two gold exploration and development companies operating west of Thunder Bay are setting their sights on developing two significant open-pit mines.
Gold X2 Mining, based in Vancouver and previously known as Goldshore Resources, has put out a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Moss gold deposit, predicting a mine life of 13 years.
The Moss site is located in the Shebandowan region, about 110 kilometres west of Thunder Bay.
The PEA outlines a typical open-pit operation using truck-and-shovel methods along with an on-site processing mill that can manage 30,000 tonnes per day.
During this 13-year period, the total estimated gold production is expected to reach 3.6 million ounces at an average milled grade of 0.88 grams per tonne. Additionally, it will produce around 4.5 million ounces of silver at a grade of 1.37 grams per tonne.
Annually, Moss aims to yield about 265,000 ounces of gold and 374,000 ounces of silver.
Gold X2’s CEO Michael Henrichsen believes that Moss has the potential to rank among the top ten gold producers in Canada while also having opportunities for growth.
He pointed out that there’s excellent infrastructure nearby with the Trans-Canada Highway and high-voltage power lines situated just 12 kilometres away.
“The PEA has outlined robust economics at a gold price of US$2,750, representing a base-case scenario that the company believes can be improved through potential resource expansion immediately adjacent to the design pit, enhanced metallurgical recoveries and optimization of the mine schedule,” said Henrichsen.
The company also updated its mineral resource estimate for Moss.
The indicated resource has increased by 73 percent to reach 2.125 million ounces of gold at a grade of 1.03 grams per tonne, alongside an estimated 3.1 million ounces of silver at a grade of 1.53 grams per tonne within a total mass of 64.3 million tonnes.
Currently, they are engaged in a two-year process aimed at advancing toward a more detailed feasibility study phase while conducting environmental assessments and entering government permitting processes along with establishing long-term partnerships with local Indigenous communities by late 2027.
A decision regarding mine construction is still pending.
Following Gold X2 is Thunder Gold, which is looking into developing a large-tonnage low-grade open-pit mine at its Tower Mountain Gold Property located just 40 kilometres west of Thunder Bay.
This local explorer announced its first-ever mineral resource estimate on January 26th, revealing over 3.5 million ounces of gold across both indicated and inferred categories with an average grade between 0.45 and 0.46 grams per tonne.
This property has seen exploration from various companies since the ’80s; however, Thunder Gold brought new insights after acquiring it in 2020 and has drilled over more than 42,000 metres across about 200 holes since then.
The management team sees considerable growth potential for resources because they believe Tower Mountain could host substantial amounts of gold yet to be discovered-around eighty percent of its 2,500-hectare area remains undrilled so far.
No technical studies have been completed yet to define mine life; however their investor presentation draws parallels between Tower Mountain’s potential and Agnico Eagle’s expansive Detour Lake open-pit operation near Cochrane.
The project’s closeness to Thunder Bay along with accessibility to public infrastructure serves as advantageous factors if construction moves forward.
The property sits only three kilometres from Highway 17 with railway access along its northern boundary.
The focus for now is directed toward an area known as Western Contact where drilling outlines indicate that there’s potential depth extending down approximately 350 metres from surface level for future pits conceptually planned there!
In their January news release President-CEO Wes Hanson described this initial estimate announcement for Tower Mountain as being “a pivotal milestone” for his team.
This year will see additional drilling efforts aimed at converting inferred resources into indicated ones-helping establish higher confidence regarding quantities available underground-and expanding resources around proposed pit areas too! There’ll also be further metallurgical testing plus environmental baseline studies starting soon after! Thunder Gold aims towards delivering another updated mineral resource estimate by 2027 along with commencing work on preliminary economic assessments providing early insights into what mining operations might entail moving forward!
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This year will see additional drilling efforts aimed at converting inferred resources into indicated ones-helping establish higher confidence regarding quantities available underground-and expanding resources around proposed pit areas too! There’ll also be further metallurgical testing plus environmental baseline studies starting soon after! Thunder Gold aims towards delivering another updated mineral resource estimate by 2027 along with commencing work on preliminary economic assessments providing early insights into what mining operations might entail moving forward!
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