Artemis pours first gold, silver at Blackwater, B.C. mine
Artemis Gold Inc. [ARTG-TSXV] said it has completed its first pour of gold and silver at its Blackwater Gold mine in central British Columbia. The company is now focused on ramping up to commercial production in the second quarter of 2025.
 “While still in commissioning, Blackwater’s crushing circuit has displayed sustained crushing operations above its prescribed nameplate throughput,’’ said Artemis President and CEO Jeremy Langford. “The milling circuit is also performing in line with expectations at this stage of the commissioning and ramp-up phase.’’
Artemis shares advanced on the news, rising 1.7% or 25 cents to $15.28. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $15.75 and $5.88.
Artemis has been focused on construction of the Blackwater mine, which ranks as the one of the largest capital investments in central British Columbia in over a decade. The project hosts 8.0 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves as well as 62.3 million ounces of proven and probable silver reserves.
The first gold and silver pour has been achieved after the company experienced delays with the configuration of and communication within the process control network. During the Christmas holiday season, the company also encountered constrained vendor availability.
The Blackwater project is located approximately 160 kilometres southwest of Prince George and 446 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. It is accessible by a major highway and access/service roads.
Artemis bought the asset from New Gold Inc. (NGD-TSX, NYSE American) in August, 2020.
The company has said it plans to develop the project in three stages, a move that would entail targeting a higher-grade zone of near surface mineralization in the southern half of the open pit in the first seven years, supporting a shorter payback period and higher IRR. It said this approach would reduce the initial capital expenditures to $592 million.
The phased approach provides the opportunity to build the Blackwater project into a new 250,000 ounce per year gold operation, growing to more than 400,000 ounces annually with growth financed from free cash flow, the company has said.
Artemis said an economic study indicates that Blackwater could deliver $2.3 billion in provincial government revenues over the life of the project and provide 825 jobs during the construction and expansion phases.
The study envisages $13.2 billion in added value in B.C. from an operation that is expected to consist of an open pit gold and silver mine that will begin life with a nominal milling rate of 15,000 tonnes per day or 5.5 million tonnes per year.
The mine is expected to be in production for a minimum of 22 years.