Sabina Gold & Silver moves forward on Goose Gold Mine

VANCOUVER – Vancouver-based Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. has announced its board of directors has made a formal construction decision to proceed with its Goose Mine project in the Black River Gold District in Nunavut.

The $610 million project has been advancing logistics, civil works, engineering and procurement with all pre-development activities completed and full construction planned to commence in 2023, a Sabina Gold & Silver release stated.

“This is a milestone decision for the company. We are excited to formally commit to becoming a significant Canadian gold producer. In the meantime, we have been steadily advancing the project to be in a position to commence full construction in early 2023 with first production expected in Q1, 2025. Our recruitment efforts continue to be successful with considerable additions to the roster (from 30 personnel in March to 142 to-date and still adding), including many key positions,” Sabina Gold & Silver president and CEO Bruce McLeod said in the release.

All major equipment and materials required for construction have been either procured, marshalled at the company’s east and west transportation hubs and have been delivered or are in transit to the Port Facility in Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut.

“Additionally, we are fortunate that our strategy of pre-planning and accelerating procurement efforts has reduced our exposure to inflationary impacts and supply chain issues, and we are sufficiently funded for construction. This is an exciting time for the company as we move to develop what we believe will be the first mine on this prolific gold district.” McLeod said.

The design for the Echo open pit, which is to be pre-mined to enable initial tailings storage was completed and pre-stripping is now underway. The early mining of the Echo and Umwelt pits will ensure approximately two years’ worth of stock-piled feed for the mill will be available prior to commencement of operations.

FLSmidth has been selected to supply the key process equipment for the mine with an equipment package valued at approximately US$39 million. The equipment has been fabricated or is in the production queue for delivery on or before the 2023 sealift to ensure installation prior to the mine start-up date, scheduled for Q1, 2025, the release said.