The Cariboo Gold Project is an advanced stage gold exploration project 100%-owned by Osisko Development located in the historic Wells-Barkerville mining camp, in the District of Wells, central British Columbia, Canada
The Cariboo Gold Project is an advanced stage gold exploration project. (Credit: Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay)
Osisko Development Corp. (NYSE: ODV, TSXV: ODV) (“Osisko Development” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the results of an independent Feasibility Study (“FS” or the “Technical Report”) prepared by BBA Engineering Ltd. (“BBA”) in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) for the Company’s 100%-owned Cariboo Gold Project (“Cariboo” or the “Project”), located in central British Columbia. The Company intends to file the Technical Report on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under Osisko Development’s issuer profile within 45 days of the date of this news release.
The FS outlines a robust and scalable phased development base case with low initial capital intensity of $137.3 million and attractive operating costs for the underground development of the Cariboo Gold Project, producing approximately 1.87 million ounces (“Moz”) of gold (“Au”) over a 12-year mine life.
Initial production (Phase 1) in the first three years contemplates a 1,500 tonne per day (“tpd”) operation from the Lowhee, Shaft and Mosquito deposits, yielding average annual production of 72,501 ounces. Concurrently, underground development will advance to ramp up operations to 4,900 tpd in year four, increasing average annual production to 193,798 ounces in Phase 2, with potential to scale production further in the future.
Underground mining will be conducted using highly-mechanized, low-cost bulk tonnage methods designed to target the extraction of ore contained in gold vein corridors: a high-density network of mineralized quartz veins hosted mainly within unmineralized sandstone. A pre-concentration ore sorting facility is expected to significantly improve processed grades by separating non-mineralized material from ore, while substantially reducing processing volumes, energy costs, and the overall environmental impact footprint of the operation with fewer tailings, reduced water usage and ability to use waste as backfill.
The Company remains on track for completing the Environmental Assessment (“EA”) process early in the second quarter of 2023 and anticipates receiving final permits by the end of 2023 (see “Permitting” below).
Sean Roosen, Chair of the Board and CEO of Osisko Development, commented, “This feasibility study demonstrates that the Cariboo Gold Project will be a large-scale, long-life and profitable gold mine. It will also produce significant quantities of gold in its initial years at a capital cost below $140 million. By phasing construction, we have minimized our exposure to development risk at Cariboo, optimized the sequencing of the assets in our portfolio and maximized our ability to scale Cariboo to reach its full potential in the future. We envision Cariboo as a project that will be a cash flow engine for the company for decades into the future. Historic mining in the district was focused on individual veins and replacement bodies with grades in excess of 12 g/t Au, which is consistent with our work completed to date. Once underground, we are excited to apply our strong understanding of the controls on mineralization to unlock Cariboo’s vast exploration potential at depth within the current mining zones, which we believe have strong potential to continue across Cariboo’s 83-kilometer mineralized trends.”
Source: Company Press Release