Abcourt Mines Inc. is a Canadian exploration and production company focused on its assets strategically located in northwestern Québec, Canada. The company’s flagship project is the Sleeping Giant mill and mine, a 100% owned high-grade gold deposit located in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, 80 km north of the city of Amos, Quebec.
The company on the 13th of December 2022 announced an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Sleeping Giant mine. The MRE is comprised of more than 1.19 million m of drilling initiatives with 9,281 m of the drilling being carried out by the company between 2016 and 2022. The mineral resource estimate includes highlights as 173,000 ounces of gold in the indicated category at an average grade of 7.14 g/t gold and 248,000 ounces of gold in the inferred category at an average grade of 8.74 g/t gold. The updated mineral resource estimate boasts a 700% increase in inferred resources. The mineral resource estimate will serve as the basis for updating the estimate of the mineral reserves of the Sleeping Giant Mine, which is scheduled to occur in spring 2023.
Abcourt Mines Inc. announced on the 14th of December 2022, that its ongoing clean-up initiative at its Sleeping Giant mill has been able to recover 1,662 ounces of gold since the 1st of October 2022. The clean-up initiatives consist of the company recovering the gold which has been trapped for decades in the circuit of the Sleeping Giant mill. The mill commenced operations in 1988 and processed more than 3 million tons of ore at a grade greater than 10 g/t gold until 2014. The company plans to continue with its cleaning initiatives until February 2023.
Sleeping Giant mine and mill
The Sleeping Giant mine and mill of the company is located 80 km north of the town of Amos in northwestern Quebec. The property is accessible throughout the year and has already built infrastructure, due to its past-producing nature. The infrastructure of the Sleeping Giant mine and mill includes underground mine workings, a headframe, milling and processing facilities, a laboratory, workshops and a warehouse, offices, core shack facilities, tailings facilities, stockpile areas and a power line. The mineral deposit of the project is characterised as a sulphide-rich lode gold deposit, with the property holding more than 8,433 drill hole records drilled since the inception of the project years ago.
Abcourt Mines Inc. on the 13th of December 2022 announced an updated mineral resource estimate for the Sleeping Giant mine. The mineral resource estimate is comprised of more than 1.19 million m of drilling initiatives with 9,281 m of the drilling being carried out by the company between 2016 and 2022. The mineral resource estimate includes highlights as 173,000 ounces of gold in the indicated category at an average grade of 7.14 g/t gold and 248,000 ounces of gold in the inferred category at an average grade of 8.74 g/t gold. The updated mineral resource estimate boasts a 700% increase in inferred resources. The mineral resource estimate will serve as the basis for updating the mineral reserves of the Sleeping Giant Mine, which is scheduled to occur in spring 2023. Pascal Hamelin, the President and CEO of Abcourt Mines Inc. explains that the project held a previous mineral resource estimate which was constructed using polygonal methods, which are conservative and an older way of creating mineral resource estimates. The company elected to use more modern methods for the creation of the mineral resource estimate.
“There was a first resource that was done in 2018, and the reserve done in 2019, but with polygonal methods, an old method, it’s safe, very conservative, but it’s a reliable method. We had 175,000 ounces of indicated and almost no inferred. So, to me, it was a point that said, ‘Oh, there’s something here, we need to investigate.’ So, we did. We used kriging, we used modern tools, we made a block model this summer, and we just announced the resource update yesterday. Now, we’ve got over 250,000 ounces of inferred resource, and a lot of exploration potential.”
Hamelin explains that the mill of the Sleeping Giant mine is located adjacent to the property’s mine and allows the operation the advantage of reduced transport costs.
“The mill is 100% permitted and it’s right above the Sleeping Giant mine. No trucking. It’s beside the frame from the Sleeping Giant mine, and that mill was processing until August 1st. It was processing the material from the Elder mine.”
The property’s mill has the capacity to process 900 tons of ore per day, with Hamelin explaining that to enable a high recovery rate the ideal is for the mill to process approximately 750 tons per day.
“The mill is capable of processing - it’s permitted for 900 tons per day, but to be efficient and have a good recovery over 95%, you don’t want to push more than 750 tons per day.”
Abcourt Mines Inc. announced on the 14th of December 2022, that its ongoing clean-up initiative at its Sleeping Giant mill has been able to recover 1,662 ounces of gold since the 1st of October 2022. The clean-up initiatives consist of the company recovering the gold which has been trapped for decades in the circuit of the Sleeping Giant mill. The mill commenced operations in 1988 and processed more than 3 million tons of ore at a grade greater than 10 g/t gold until 2014. The company plans to continue with its cleaning initiatives until February 2023. Hamelin explains that the clean-up is focused on the bottom of the mill where the material has accumulated throughout the years of operation.
“The Sleeping Giant mill is operational. It’s functional. Right now, what we’re doing is the clean-up. We’re cleaning the mill. There was like pulp or mud on the floor, underneath the ball mills, so we’re doing a mill clean-up so we can come back in after with paintbrushes and paint the mill.”
Advancing initiatives
Abcourt Mines Inc. has various initiatives planned to advance the company in the near future, with the company’s focus set on its Sleeping Giant mine and mill. Hamelin explains that one of the company’s initiatives entails it acquiring another smaller market cap company in its vicinity.
“We proposed to acquire another company in the camp, Pershimex. They have very good assets. 1 asset is very interesting; I would say it’s cheap right now because it’s an early-stage project, but high grade, like over 7 g right on the surface. Pershimex took a 5,000 ton bulk sample this fall. That was arranged with Abcourt to be processed at the Sleeping Giant mill before I came. So, this was an arrangement between Pershimex and Abcourt already to process that material. Now, I saw the potential with Pershimex and said, ‘Well, we’ve got to acquire that, it’s a USD$ 3 million market cap company.’ In a few years, we won’t be able to afford it, so let’s buy them now and let’s do the exploration ourselves.”
The asset portfolio of the company includes zinc and copper assets. Hamelin explains that the company has no intent on advancing these projects under the name of Abcourt Mines Inc. and will wait for the correct time to either sell the assets or enter a joint venture with another company or spin out the projects into new companies.
“We’ve got 2 zinc assets and 1 copper asset. The copper asset is west of Rouyn-Noranda. It doesn’t cost - we acquired it for almost nothing, so for us, we’re going to wait for the right opportunity to sell it. We’re not going to develop a copper mine if we’re a gold company. Same thing for the 2 zinc assets, south of the Sleeping Giant mill. That cannot be processed in our mill. So, our goal will be to either JV, sell it, or spin it out into a different company, to provide value to our shareholders, but it’s not going to be processed at Sleeping Giant. We’re going to do something with them.”
Hamelin believes that the Sleeping Giant mine and mill provides investors with the opportunity to see a return on investment in a short amount of time. The small timeframe required is due to the Sleeping Giant mine and mill having the possibility to enter production in a short timeframe.
“Sleeping Giant mine can go into production at any time. So, raising some money for that, with short-term return for the investors - that’s what they’re looking for. They don’t want to see the projects with a 2 or 3 year payback. They want to see an immediate return. So, Sleeping Giant provides that. Now, it needs a little bit of help, so how do you help it? Well, with the drill bit. You’ve got to continue the exploration.”
Future
Abcourt Mines Inc. will in the near future remain focused on advancing its Sleeping Giant mine and mill, which includes securing ore for the operation’s milling circuit. The company has been able to update the mineral resource estimate of the Sleeping Giant mine and mill in 2022 and plans to conduct similar activities at the operations of Flordin and Discovery zones.
“Priority 1 is Sleeping Giant because we have a resource, and we do have a reserve. Now, we’re going to do a reserve update from yesterday’s resource. So, Sleeping Giant mine is priority 1 because it’s right beside the mill, so lower cost. Priority number 2 is we have 2 assets, Flordin and Discovery, that are about 80 km east of the Sleeping Giant mill. Those have historical resources. There was some resource - there was a 43-101 done in the late, I think 2008 or 2010. So, about 12 years ago. It needs to be refreshed with the new CIM guidelines, so we’re going to do that. That’s going to be done in 2023.”
Another source of ore for the Sleeping Giant mine and mill is from Pershimex. The material is separate from any acquisition plans the company may have, and consists of a 5,000-ton bulk sample readily available to the Sleeping Giant mine and mill.
“We’ve got some material at Pershing-Manitou, the deposit belonging to Pershimex. It’s high-grade, 5,000 tons, all broken, sitting there, it just needs to be trucked to the mill. We have material underground at Sleeping Giant mine. We have material ready to go to the ore pass.”
Abcourt Mines Inc. believes that through continuously delivering on the milestones it sets for itself to the market, investors will be able to see the potential that the company holds. Hamelin explains that the company has continuously delivered on its promises to the market, and through that believes that the company’s potential is displayed to the investor community.
“Not too many companies have an operational mill with reserves underneath, at a USD$ 15 million to USD$ 20 million market cap. I don’t know too many companies like that. So, you just show that you can deliver, you deliver a small milestone, so we told the market we were going to do a resource update, we did it, now we’re going to do a reserve, we’re going to do it. Baby steps, but people see, ‘Okay, they cleaned the balance sheet,’ they see that from September 30th financials, June 30th financials, we’re active in the camp, we’re recruiting, we’re building the technical team. People see that. So, that’s how you’re going to convince the investors that this is a good horse.”
