Treasury Metals (TML) - Technical Analysis & Due Diligence

Treasury Metals Inc. is a TSX- and OTCQX -listed, Canadian gold exploration and development company with its Goliath Gold Complex located in Canada. The Goliath Gold Complex is located 20 km east of the city of Dryden in Ontario and consists of the Goliath Gold mine and mill, Goldlund gold project and Miller gold project. The operations are envisioned to consist of both open-pit and underground operations, with the Goliath Gold project having both milling and tailing facilities. The Goldlund gold project as well as the Miller Gold project of the company is located 25 km northwest of the company’s Goliath gold project and hosts over a million ounces of gold in the indicated category and over 700,000 ounces of gold in the inferred category.

Merlin Marr-Johnson sat down with Jeremy Wyeth the president and CEO, Maura Kolb the director of exploration, and Eben Visser the director of projects for Treasury Metals Inc.(TSX:TML) to have a technical discussion regarding the company’s assets.  

Company Overview

The company recently announced a mineral resource estimate (MRE) at its Goliath Gold complex which includes highlights as 273,600 ounces of gold in the measured category and 1,865,000 ounces of gold in the indicated category. The updated MRE includes 41,072 m of exploration drilling which consist of 176 drill holes. The updated MRE is based on, in total, 540,329 m of drilling consisting of 3,185 drill holes.

The company plans on conducting and publishing a pre-feasibility study (PFS) of the Goliath gold complex by the middle of 2022 from which it aims to have the project’s feasibility study completed by the second quarter (Q2) of 2023. The company will also continue with its exploration activities at the Goliath gold project to identify new mineralisation targets as well as at the Goldlund gold project, which shows great potential for the expansion of its mineral resource.

Treasury Metals Inc. aims to commence construction at the Goliath gold project by Q4 2023 enabling the commencement of mining activities in Q4 2025. The company also plans on continuing the permitting of the complex in the coming year.

Management

The company is led by Jeremy Wyeth, who serves as the President, CEO and Director of Treasury Metals Inc. Wyeth holds a BSc in Mining Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand and has over 35 years of experience in the international mining sector. He started his career with De Beers in 1988 and has worked at various operations throughout the world including Canada, Russia, Brazil and South Africa. Wyeth is accredited with advancing the Victor Diamond Mine of De Beers in Northern Ontario from Pre-Feasibility study to nameplate capacity. The project was completed 9 months ahead of schedule, and below budget under the supervision and leadership of Wyeth.

Orin Baranowsky is the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company and brings with him more than 20 years of experience in finance and capital markets. He holds an honours degree in business administration obtained from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a member of the chartered professional accountants of Ontario and is a CFA charter holder. He previously served as the CFO of Blue Thunder Mining Inc. and prior to that as CFO for Stornoway Diamond Corporation. Baranowsky was instrumental in the raising of more than USD$ 1 billion for the construction of the Renard Diamond Mine in northern Québec during his time at Stornoway Diamond Corporation.

Rachel Pineault is the Vice President (VP) of Human Resources and Community Engagement. Pineault brings with her more than 25 years of progressive senior management experience. She was prior to joining Treasury Metals Inc. the Vice President of Human Resources at Battle North Gold and before that the director of Human Resources for the Canadian Operations, of Kirkland Lake Gold. She is highly experienced having also served as Vice President of Human Resources and Aboriginal Affairs at Detour Gold, and Head of Human Resources and Aboriginal Affairs for the Victor Diamond Mine in Canada.

Steven Woolfenden is the Vice President (VP) of Environment and Regulatory Affairs. Woolfenden has over 25 years of experience in navigating complex environmental approvals and implementing environmental management systems for large-scale projects throughout the world. He previously served as the Vice President of Environment and Community Affairs for McEwen Mining and was IAMGOLD corporation’s corporate environment director before this. Woolfenden was responsible for the oversight of environmental matters and worked to build effective relationships with regulatory authorities, Indigenous and local communities during his time at IAMGOLD Corporation. He is well versed in the Canadian regulatory environment having worked at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) for over 10 years.

Eben Visser is the director of Projects for Treasury Metals Inc. Visser has over 15 years of project management and construction experience in the mining and energy sectors. He started his career with Anglo Platinum before joining DRA Global. Visser led teams through the concept phase to the construction and commissioning of various projects during his time at DRA global. He has managed various projects, both EPC and EPCM, across four continents and is a registered Project Management Professional (PMP).

Maura Kolb is the Director of Exploration for the company and has over 10 years of experience in gold mining and exploration in North-western Ontario. She has experience in grassroots exploration as well as bringing projects into commercial production. She spent eight years in the Red Lake Camp leading exploration initiatives regionally.

Saira Hussain and Adam Larsen round out the team.  Hussain serves as Corporate Controller for the company and brings with her over 15 years of experience in the mining industry. Adam Larsen is the manager of Exploration for the company and has been either participating in or leading exploration initiatives for the company at the Goliath Gold Project for more than 8 years.

The management team is tasked with advancing the Goliath Gold Complex of the company.

Goliath Gold Complex

The Goliath Gold Complex of Treasury Metals Inc. is a 330 km2 land package which consists of three projects namely the Goliath Gold mine and mill project, the Goldlund mine project and the Miller mine project. The complex is located within the Wabigoon-Greenstone belt in the Dryden-Sioux lookout area of North-western Ontario.

The Goliath Gold project consists of both an open-it as well as an underground gold mine hosting both gold and silver mineralisation. The project also has existing milling infrastructure as well as a tailings storage facility. The Goliath Gold project received federal environmental assessment (FEA) approval in 2019 from the Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The project is easily accessible by road and has an existing power infrastructure which includes a 115 kV and 230 Hydro One M2D line that cuts diagonally across the project property.

The Goldlund Mine project is located 25 km northeast of the Goliath Gold project and hosts gold mineralisation The project is envisioned to be an open-pit mining operation with Treasury Metals Inc. currently underway with collecting baseline environmental data to support future approvals and permits required for construction and operation.

The Miller Mine project is also located 25 km northeast of the Goliath Gold Project. The project is easily accessible and hosts gold mineralisation. The project is envisioned to be an open-pit mining operation with Treasury Metals Inc. planning to collect baseline environmental data in the near future.

The Goliath Gold Complex is envisioned to consist of ore transported from both the Goldlund and Miller open-pit mines to the processing facility at the Goliath Gold project’s mill.

Goliath Gold Complex MRE

Treasury Metals Inc. published an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) of the Goliath Gold Complex in the middle of April 2022. The updated MRE includes 41,072 m of exploration drilling which consist of 176 drill holes. The updated MRE is based on, in total, 540,329 m of drilling consisting of 3,185 drill holes.

The highlights of the MRE include a 9% increase in both measured and combined mineral resources of the Goliath Gold Complex to a total of 2,138,600 ounces of gold. The Inferred resources of the complex have been increased by 47% to 782,800 ounces of gold with the measured resources of the complex increasing to 273,600 ounces of gold from 105,000 ounces.

The MRE also successfully converted the Miller deposit’s mineralisation into the indicated category boasting 74,600 ounces of gold. The Goldlund deposit’s resource increased from 840,000 ounces of gold in the indicated category to 940,000 ounces of gold as well as the Inferred component of the deposit's resource increased to 703,500 ounces of gold from 311,000 ounces of gold.

Treasury Metals Inc. plans to implement the updated mineral resource estimate of the Goliath Gold Complex towards the completion of a Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) of the complex, which is planned to be published in the second half of 2022.

Royalty financing

Treasury Metals Inc. announced that it had concluded with a royalty agreement with Sprott Resource Streaming and Royalty Corp. (SRSR) in early April 2022. The Agreement consists of a 2.2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty, covering the Goliath Gold Complex, issued by Treasury Metals Inc. to Sprott Resource Royalty and Streaming Corp. The issuing of the NSR royalty resulted in the upfront gross proceeds of USD$ 20 million towards the company. The NSR royalty will cover all minerals produced from the Goliath Gold Complex for the project’s lifetime.

The company has the option to repurchase 50% of the royalty by December 31, 2028. The royalty rate will also be reduced by 50% automatically upon the achievement of 1.5 million ounces of gold production at the Goliath Gold Complex.  

The proceeds of the NSR royalty issuing, by Treasury Metals Inc., will be sufficient to see the Goliath Gold Complex through the completion of various studies, permitting and community consultations necessary to advance to a construction decision.

Future

Treasury Metals Inc. plans to continue its exploration initiatives at the Goliath Gold Complex in the coming year, with the company planning a 25,000 m drilling program. The drilling program will be aimed at regional exploration at the complex. The company also plans on publishing a pre-feasibility study (PFS) of the Goliath Gold Complex in the second half of 2022.

Treasury Metals Inc. will upon the completion of the pre-feasibility study initiate the completion of a feasibility study for the Goliath Gold Complex. The Feasibility Study (FS) is planned to be published by Q2, 2023 from which the company will make its final construction decision.

The company plans on continuing with its permitting and environmental studies in parallel to the PFS completion of the Goliath Gold Complex. The construction of the complex is estimated to be between 18 and 24 months with the first gold produced to be in 2025, should the decision to construct be made. 

To find out more, go to the Treasury Metals website