Troilus Gold (TLG) - Increased Grade and Scale. Sooner to Production

Troilus Gold is a Toronto-based and TSX-listed advanced-stage exploration and early-development mining company. They have their eyes set upon the mineral expansion and potential mine re-start of the Troilus mine. This endeavour has been named the Troilus Gold Project.

Matthew Gordon caught up with Justin Reid, president, CEO, and director of Troilus Gold to discuss the newest developments of the Troilus Gold Project.

Company Overview

Troilus is a former gold and copper mine located northeast of the Val-d’Or district, within the Frôtet-Evans Greenstone Belt in Quebec, Canada. Troilus produced 2 million ounces (Moz) of gold and almost 70 thousand tons (kt) of copper, when it was still in production, between 1996 and 2010.

Troilus Gold acquired the Troilus mine in 2017. Troilus performed rigorous analysis before the acquisition of the mine. This due diligence included economic and technical analyses as well as an in-depth geological assessment. The geological assessment encompassed the drilling of over 80 500 meters and was conducted over two and a half years.

The results from this assessment show that the indicated mineral resources have increased by 142% and the inferred mineral resources have increased by 350% since the acquisition of the mine in 2017. The geological assessment results were implemented in the generation of the technical and economic analysis. The technical and economic analysis includes the projected capital and operating costs as well as the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

With Troilus having been in operation, the mine already has a well-established infrastructure. The available infrastructure includes a network of well-maintained roads, a substation, and high-tension power lines maintained by Hydro-Quebec. Hydro-Quebec manages the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec. The Troilus mine has a permitted tailings facility and operating water treatment plant – adding to the list of available infrastructure. These facilities will become paramount for future mining licenses. 

Management

Reid is a geologist and capital markets executive with over 20 years of experience in the mineral resource space. Reid started his career, in the mineral space, as a geologist with Saskatchewan geological survey and Cominco global exploration after which he became a partner and senior mining analyst at Sprott/Cormark Securities in Toronto. Reid was named Executive General Manager at Paladin Energy after his time at Sprott/Cormark Securities. At Paladin Energy, Reid was responsible for leading all mergers and acquisitions. His experience as managing director of global mining sales at National Bank Financial allows Reid to understand trading in the mining sector on an in-depth level.

Serving as Chief Operating Officer (COO) is Richard Harrisson. Harrisson is a mining engineer with more than 20 years of experience. He has held various engineering, development, and production positions. These positions have primarily been in Quebec. One such position includes serving as the director of project assessments for the Canadian Malartic Corporation. In his capacity as director at Malartic Corporation, Harrisson was responsible for the development and construction of the Odyssey mine. The Odyssey mine is one of the largest underground gold mining projects in Canada. The Troilus Gold Project may be able to implement similar processes as the Odyssey mine as it too will include underground activities.

Denis Arsenault acts as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and senior Vice-President (VP). Arsenault is a chartered professional accountant with more than 35 years of experience. He has held a variety of senior financial positions in various sectors including mining and resources as well as communications. Arsenault was formerly the CFO of Sulliden Gold Corporation Ltd. and Central Sun Mining Inc.

Blake Hylands is the senior VP of exploration and has spent most of his career working in mining exploration in Canada and internationally. Hylands has previously held technical positions for several junior mining companies. One of the tasks Hylands was assigned to, was the development of grassroots mapping and sampling programmes, the first step in a greenfield project. A greenfield project is a term used to describe a project with no previous development or infrastructure. Hylands also managed large-scale drill programmes. Hylands used these drilling programmes to manage the transition of a junior mining project from early exploration to the resource definition stage.

Ian Pritchard serves as senior VP of technical services. Pritchard has over 30 years of experience in project and operations management in the mining industry. Pritchard’s mining experience includes the management of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies as well as the management of EPCM projects (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management).

Daniel Bergeron is VP of Troilus Gold’s Quebec operations and has been actively involved with mining in northern Quebec for over 20 years. Bergeson has worked closely with major mining companies focused on building positive partnerships with communities. These partnerships include the initial impact benefit negotiations, a process where indigenous communities consent to a project proceeding, as well as economic training programmes.

Jacqueline Leroux acts as the VP of environment and permitting. Leroux has over 20 years of experience in the mining industry, mostly in Northern Quebec. She has held senior positions at various organizations and operations, including the Troilus project from 2005 to 2007 and BlackRock Metals. This experience enables Leroux to have a keen understanding of environmental affairs, permits related to exploration, environmental evaluation processes, and the construction of mining operations.

Brianna Davies, Catherine Stretch, and Caroline Arsenault add to the management respectively as VP of legal affairs and corporate secretary, VP of corporate affairs, and VP of corporate communications.

Reid boasts with his management team by stating:

“Richard Harrisson and Ian Pritchard, our engineering team, deliver the unbelievable - the project, Jacqueline Leroux and Daniel Bergeron delivered the permit and call it the social license, and Blake Highlands and the team just add ounces, as much as we need”

With an experienced technical and capital management team, it seems that the Troilus Gold Project may be in good hands.

Troilus Gold Project

The Troilus mine produced 2 Moz of gold and nearly 70 Kt of copper between 1996 and 2010. Troilus Gold acquired the Troilus mine in 2017. The operational history of the mine ensures a well-established infrastructure. This infrastructure includes a network of well-maintained roads, a substation and high-tension power lines, a permitted tailings facility, and an operating water treatment plant.

The minds behind Troilus Gold believe that the Troilus Gold Project presents a unique opportunity to restart the mine. Quebec is known as a favourable mining jurisdiction and was placed in the top 10 mining jurisdictions in the world by the Fraser Institute in 2020.

The Troilus Gold Project will consist of both open-pit and underground mining. The open-pit and underground operations will overlap in production of mill feed in the 8th year of operations. The open-pit will be depleted by the 14th year of operation and the underground mining will continue until the 22nd (and last) year of operation.

Currently, it is estimated that the areas below and around the former Troilus mining pits contain a gold equivalent resource of 4.96 Moz AuEq. This resource comprises 177 Mt of ore with an average grade of 0.87 g/t AuEq.

Gravity gold concentration, copper flotation, and concentrate filtration will be implemented for mineral extraction at the processing plant. Waste from the processing plant will be sent to the existing tailings management facility and used as a backfill. Backfilling refers to a process where waste is used to fill the cavities created by mining. By implementing backfilling, the environmental impact of the mine is lessened. The existing tailings facility is fit to handle the life of mine production of the Troilus gold project.

Further highlights of the Troilus Gold Project include a strong development strategy. This strategy includes a phased exploration programme and updated technical studies. The project also enjoys strong community support. The strong community support consists of skilled local labourers. The skilled community is accredited to the mining region in which Troilus is located. Implementing the local and skilled community will enable Troilus to reach full production earlier and more effectively.  

Cash Position

The average annual gold production of the Troilus Gold Project is projected to be 220 Koz over the first 5 years of operation. This annual production will increase to 246 Koz for years 6 to 15 from where it will decrease to 98 Koz annually. The projected 22-year life of mine will produce 3.8 Moz of gold, 265 Mlbs of copper, and 1.5 Moz of silver.

The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Troilus Gold Project indicates that the initial capital that is required is $333 million for the open-pit stage of operations. The development of the underground mining operations will require an additional $240 million.

The PEA, which was conducted based on an average gold price of $1,750, includes a net present value (NPV) of $1,538 million pre-tax and $915 million post-tax. A total cumulative cash flow of $3.05 billion pre-tax and $1.87 billion post-tax will also be observed by the project. The project further possesses an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 41.8% and 32.2% pre-and post-tax respectively. Bearing the aforementioned in mind means Troilus has a payback period of 2.6 and 3 years pre-and post-tax, respectively.

Future

The combination of the PEA, available mineral resources, infrastructure, and location leads Reid to proudly proclaim that he does not see anything stopping Troilus Gold. Troilus Gold is determined to expedite the project schedule by implementing any allowable early infrastructure upgrades. These upgrades must be implementable whilst the mine undergoes permit processes. Troilus Gold will furthermore drive production-focused technical developments to ensure optimized production circuits. Further metallurgical studies are also on the horizon, coupled with ensuring all permits necessary for production are obtained.

With the project on time, on budget, and being a possible valuable addition to a pristine mining jurisdiction, Reid is confident that nothing can stop Troilus Gold.  

To find out more, go to the Troilus Gold Website