Fuerte Metals releases PEA for Yukon gold project
Fuerte Metals Corp. [FMT-TSXV] has announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its 100%-owned Coffee Gold project in the Canadian Yukon.
Fuerte shares advance on the news, rising 5.2% or 45 cents to $9.10. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $8.70 and 54 cents.
The PEA envisages an open-pit heap-leach mine with average production of 249,000 ounces annually in the first five years and 217,000 ounces on average over the 13-year mine life.
It also pegs cash operating cost at US$1,136 an ounce and an all in sustaining cost of US$1,274 an ounce, positioning the project in the second quartile of global producers.
Based on the results, Fuerte sees a clear pathway to production. It said the PEA is the catalyst for significant early works in 2026, expected receipt of mine permits by end of year, and a construction decision in early 2027
Fuerte recently agreed to acquire the Coffee project from Newmont Corp. [NEM-NYSE, ASX, PNGX] for $150 million.
“The positive results of the PEA strongly validate our decision to acquire the Coffee project in 2025,’’ said Fuerte CEO Tim Warman.
“We will be moving ahead with an aggressive timeline and early works program in 2026, including the construction of the remaining portions of the access road from Dawson to the Coffee Project, which we anticipate beginning on receipt of road-related permits later this spring,” he said.
Coffee is one of the largest and highest-grade heap leach projects in the world, with 3.0 million in measured and indicated resources within 80 million tonnes at 1.15 g/t (0.18 g/t cut-off). At a higher 0.4 g/t cut-off, Coffee has approximately 2.8 million ounces of measured and indicated resources within 60 million tonnes at 1.44 g/t gold.
On top of that is an inferred resource of 21.2 million tonnes of grade 1.17 g/t or 800,000 gold ounces.
The Coffee Gold Project will be mined by conventional truck/loader open pit operations with an average annual production rate of 7.4 million tonnes of material processed, and a life of mine strip ratio of 7.6:1. Material to be leached will be mined principally from four pits, with minor production from smaller pits over 13 years. Mining will take place year-round, with material to be leached delivered by truck from the pits to the crusher except in the coldest period of the year (approximately three months) when this material will be stockpiled. The leach pad will be constructed in stages, with each stage large enough to provide capacity for one and a half to three years of operation.
In addition to Coffee, Fuerte holds a portfolio of copper and gold assets, including the Placeton—Caballo Muerto project in Chile and the Cristina and Yecora projects in Mexico, offering additional growth and exploration upside.
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