Tudor Gold Advances PEA at Treaty Creek Targeting Lower-Capital Path to Production

Tudor Gold initiates a preliminary economic assessment for a high-grade underground mine at Treaty Creek, targeting 10,000 tonnes per day.
- Tudor Gold Corp has appointed Fuse Advisors Inc. to complete a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Goldstorm Deposit at the Treaty Creek project.
- The assessment focuses on a targeted underground mining scenario processing up to 10,000 tonnes per day of higher-grade gold mineralization.
- Management aims to define an initial mine plan utilizing 50 million to 100 million tonnes of material grading above 2.5 grams per tonne gold.
- The company expects preliminary metallurgical test results by the end of the first quarter of 2026, which will inform the final processing flow sheet.
- This strategic advancement establishes a faster, lower-capital pathway to production compared to a traditional bulk-tonnage open-pit operation.
Launching the Treaty Creek Preliminary Economic Assessment
Tudor Gold advances preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Goldstorm Deposit with the retention of Fuse Advisors Inc. The PEA will specifically examine the viability of a 10,000-tonne-per-day underground mine. Instead of mining the entire deposit using a bulk-tonnage approach, Fuse Advisors is tasked with developing a mine plan targeting 50 to 100 million tonnes of material grading above 2.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
The engineering firm will use data from an ongoing metallurgical program to develop a processing flow sheet and to calculate the project's overall economics. Through sequential copper-pyrite flotation, the program shows potential to produce marketable copper and sulphide gold concentrates, with anticipated recoveries of 80% to 90% for gold, 75% to 85% for silver, and 75% to 85% for copper.
Context & Strategic Pivot to Underground Mining
The updated mineral resource estimate reframes how investors should think about Gabbs. The deposit's full 24.9 million indicated ounces represent a scale that would demand massive capital, upwards of US$10 billion and 150,000 tonnes per day of material movement, making a bulk-tonnage development approach impractical for a company of P2 Gold's size. The decision to apply a US$175 per tonne NPV cut-off determines the scope of the initial development case and the capital required to advance it.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Tudor Gold, Joseph Ovsenek, outlined the rationale for this strategic shift:
“What really gets us excited at Tudor Gold is not only that we have this large bulk tonnage gold resource, but within that resource, we actually have some higher grade mineralization in that 2 to 4 gram range. That’s what really sets our Treaty Creek project apart from a lot of the other big gold resource discoveries in the last while.”
Transitioning to a focused underground operation reduces the estimated capex to a much more manageable US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion range. It also bypasses severe winter weather constraints by operating underground, which allows the company to advance the project independently.
Ovsenek further stated:
“What we’re focused on is this higher grade underground line targeting that 3 gram or better material to start with, and come up with an 8 to 10,000 tonnes per day underground mine, with a capex of a billion to a billion and a half. We can build that mine. We don’t need help from anyone else, and that’s something we can push ahead to production.”
Metallurgical Integration & Upcoming Catalysts
Tudor Gold offers a clear roadmap for 2026. The metallurgical testing program is expected to yield initial results by the end of March 2026. Preliminary testing indicates that a sequential copper-pyrite flotation circuit has the potential to generate marketable copper and sulphide gold concentrates featuring target grades of 15 to 25 g/t gold and 26% to 28% copper.
At the targeted 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes per day throughput, management has previously indicated the operation could produce approximately 250,000 to 300,000 ounces of gold per annum. The PEA, targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2026, will define capital requirements, operating costs, and projected cash flows, thereby transitioning Treaty Creek from a pure exploration-discovery asset into a development-stage asset.
The Investment Thesis for Tudor Gold
- Capital requirements are a fraction of the bulk-tonnage alternative: Focusing on a smaller footprint underground operation lowers the initial capital expenditure from an estimated US$10 billion to the US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion range, making the project self-fundable without major partner dilution.
- Higher-grade mineralization provides the economic foundation: The presence of 5.8 million ounces grading between 2 and 4.0 grams per tonne, isolated using a US$175 per tonne net present value cut-off, underpins a starter mine capable of producing approximately 250,000 to 300,000 ounces of gold per year.
- Underground mining mitigates Golden Triangle weather risk: Transitioning to underground mining bypasses severe weather constraints in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, enabling year-round operational consistency and significantly reducing drilling costs.
- Staged development preserves long-term optionality: A starter mine approach allows the company to generate early cash flow while retaining the optionality to scale up and process the broader 24.9 million ounce indicated gold resource for potential expansion.
Tudor Gold’s launch of a preliminary economic assessment for a high-grade underground mine, expected by the third quarter of 2026, signals a strategic shift. It will allow the market to value Treaty Creek as a development-stage asset with the March 2026 metallurgical results serving as the immediate catalyst.
TL;DR
Tudor Gold has initiated a preliminary economic assessment for its Treaty Creek project, shifting focus to a 10,000-tonne-per-day high-grade underground starter mine to reduce capital costs, mitigate weather risks, and accelerate the timeline to initial production. With metallurgical results due by the end of March 2026 and the full economic assessment targeted for the third quarter of 2026, the company is on a clear path to re-rate Treaty Creek from an exploration discovery to a development asset.
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