LaFleur Minerals Targets Near-Term Gold Production with Beacon Gold Mill Restart in the Heart of Canada’s Best Gold Producing Region

By Peter Kennedy

The Abitibi Greenstone belt, which stretches through the Canadian shield from Wawa, Ontario, to Chibougamau, Quebec, is recognized as one of the most prolific gold-producing regions in the world. It continues to be a major focal point for exploration and investment.

The region’s gold mining heritage is reflected in the names of some of the key towns in the Abitibi area, including Val-d’Or, which means Valley of Gold. Timmins, Ont., now a major support centre for mining in the region was founded in 1912, following the Porcupine Gold Rush.

Since mining began in the early 1900s, more than 124 mines have been established in the Abitibi, and at least 15 have yielded over 2.5 million ounces of gold. The total gold content of the belt, including past production and current reserves and resources, exceeds 300 million ounces.

The majority of the Abitibi’s rich gold deposits lie along fault lines in major deformation zones such as the Cadillac-Larder Lake zone and Destor-Porcupine zone. These deposits are the foundations of gold camps that boast historical production numbers in excess of 10 million ounces of gold.

Major mining operations in the Abitibi region include several significant mines and producers such as Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., a leading producer with operations like the Canadian Malartic and the LaRonde Complex, Newmont Corp. (Porcupine Gold Mines) and Kirkland Lake Gold (now part of Agnico Eagle, with Macassa and Detour Lake Mines). The Detour Lake Mine, owned by Agnico, is one of the largest gold-producing mines in Canada. Numerous other gold deposits are being developed by junior exploration companies (See Figure 1)

Figure 1: Lafleur Minerals’ Swanson Gold Deposit located 50 km from the Beacon Gold Mill, and surrounding

Deposits

LaFleur Mineral’s Swanson Gold Deposit and Beacon Gold Mill is strategically located in the midst and surrounded by these gold deposits:

LaFleur Minerals Inc. [LFLR-CSE, LFLRF-OTCQB] is on the cusp of becoming a gold producer in a buoyant bullion at their Beacon Gold Mill and Swanson Gold Deposit in Val-d’Or, Quebec.

When LaFleur acquired ownership of the Beacon Gold Mill in November 2024, $20 million had already been spent on upgrades by the previous owner, Monarch Mining, making Beacon Gold Mill an exceptional near-producing asset. LaFleur shas stated that it has developed a comprehensive mill restart plan, which includes improvements of $3.8 million for mill equipment and maintenance, and tailings storage facility repairs of $1.8 million. The company said it anticipates achieving production at the Beacon Gold Mill by early 2026, once the restart tasks and ramp-up period are complete. Initial production is expected to begin by the end of this year and will represent a significant shift from gold explorer to gold producer in a Tier 1 jurisdiction in Quebec,Canada.

The Beacon Gold Mill is capable of processing 750 tonnes per day and is located along existing rail and road infrastructure with direct access to the Swanson Gold Deposit and other gold projects in the region at various stages of development. It is also permitted to process up to 1.8 million tonnes of tailings, with additional capacity if required, making it a prime facility to cater to nearby deposits for custom milling.

“We are very excited to have put together a district scale gold project at the heart of the Abitibi Gold Belt in Quebec,’’ said LaFleur Minerals CEO Paul Teniere. “Our Swanson Gold Deposit is located only 50 kilometres away from the Beacon Gold Mill and is now over 16,000 hectares in size with a current mineral resource estimate of 123,400 gold ounces in the indicated category and 64,500 gold ounces in the inferred category, completed in accordance with CIM and NI 43-101 standards,’’ he said.  “Adding the Beacon Gold Mill in an area surrounded by numerous other gold deposits opens up numerous opportunities for LaFleur Minerals to explore the potential of eventually putting the Beacon Gold Mill back into production, especially with the current gold price setting all time price records and reaching over US$3,365.51 per ounce.’’

Lafleur Minerals says geological, and engineering planning continues for a large bulk sampling program at Swanson. The plan includes the extraction of an up to 100,000-tonne surface bulk sample at Swanson for processing at the Beacon Mill. Meanwhile, the company aims to complete at least 5,000 metres of diamond drilling, starting in July 2025, using existing flow-through funds. Over 50 promising drill targets have been identified, in addition to other highly prospective historical outlined targets at Bartec, Jolin, and Marimac gold targets.

Lafleur Minerals (CSE:LFLR, OTCQB:LFLRF, FSE: 3WK01) is in advanced discussions with institutional and private equity groups, as well as exploring non-dilutive funding options with several commodity trading and debt financing firms to fund the Beacon Mill’s restart.