Premier Gold Mines is spending US$83 million this year to explore and develop its properties in Northern Ontario, Nevada, and Mexico.
The biggest expenditure is for one of its tentpole projects near Geraldton in northwestern Ontario. Premier has earmarked $37.9 million to further advance its Hardrock gold deposit in a joint venture it shares with Centerra Gold known as Greenstone Gold.
It represents a “four-fold” increase in annual project spending from the previous year.
The first $18.1 million from the budget is devoted to permitting and detailed engineering in order to make a production decision later on.
To the northwest, Premier has slotted more than $2.8 million for follow-up drilling at its Hasaga Project in the Red Lake district. The company identified some high-grade gold targets during exploration last year.
Premier owns or is a partner in two operating mines in Nevada and Mexico, four advanced-stage development projects, plus numerous exploration properties across North America.
Down in north-central Nevada, Premier is sinking $19 million into its Cove Project to do 8,000 metres worth of drilling and a preliminary economic assessment on a former mine property.
Premier considers its larger McCoy-Cove Property, “one of the highest grade undeveloped gold deposits in Nevada” with a past production history of more than 3 million ounces of gold and 100 million ounces of silver.
The company recently inked a joint venture agreement for Barrick Gold to earn a 60 per cent interest on the Cove property if Barrick spends $22 million on exploration over the next five years.
In Elko County, Premier has budgeted $9.2 million to expand its South Arturo Mine, plus another $1.2 million in exploration. Premier owns a 40 per cent interest through a joint venture with Barrick. Construction of an open pit mine there begins during the middle of this year.
South of Battle Mountain, Premier is spending $3.4 million on exploration drilling on its consolidated Goldbanks/Rye Project. Two years ago, Premier secured an option with Kinross Gold to earn a 50 per cent stake in the Goldbanks property located on federal lands in Pershing County.
Premier believes the property hosts several vein systems that could host gold deposits that could be mined with both open pit and underground methods.
In Mexico’s Sonora State, Premier is spending $10.8 million on exploration in and around its Marianas deposit and $13.1 million on its Rey de Ore deposit.
“Premier remains focused on increasing future production by advancing multiple projects,” said company president Ewan Downie in a Jan. 30 statement. “A substantial portion of this budget is allotted to exploration, a long-standing commitment of the company that has resulted in several significant discoveries and a peer-best development pipeline.”
The company will release its fourth quarter and 2017 year-end results on March 27. A conference call and webcast are scheduled for the same day.
