Seabridge Gold files updated NI43-101 Report for Courageous Lake, Northwest Territories
Seabridge Gold Inc. [TSX-SEA; NYSE-SA] announced that it has filed a new NI-43-101 Technical Report for its 100%-owned Courageous Lake project in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
The new Technical Report includes the results of an updated Preliminary Feasibility Study (2024 PFS) and a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (2024 PEA) that evaluates a conceptual expansion of the Courageous Lake open pit beyond the 2024 PFS mine plan. Results of the 2024 PFS and 2024 PEA were announced January 16, 2024.
The new Technical Report was led by Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC., together with the support of Moose Mountain Technical Services, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., ERM Consultants Canada Ltd., Tetra Tech Canada Inc. and WN Brazier Associates Inc., all of which are independent of Seabridge Gold.
The 2024 PFS shows a considerably more sustainable and profitable mining operation than its 2012 predecessor, with reduced initial capital, lower strip ratio, higher grade and smaller mine footprint.
Commenting on the study, Seabridge Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk said: “Our work shows Courageous Lake as a profitable project in the current environment, in a safe jurisdiction, with considerable exploration upside. The project consists of an entire greenstone belt which has prospective shallow drill results and gold showings along its 54 km length. As we move towards a joint venture on our KSM project, we will be directing more attention to Courageous Lake’s potential to generate considerable additional shareholder value.”
Notable improvements in the 2024 PFS compared to the 2012 PFS include a 73% increase in after-tax NPV5% to US$523 million from US$303 million in 2012; a 50% reduction in initial capital from US$1,522 million to US$747 million; increased after-tax IRR from 7.3% to 20.6%; reduced capital payback period from 11.2 years to 2.8 years.
Average gold reserve grade increased 19% from 2.2 g/t to 2.6 g/t; Life-of-mine strip ratio reduced by 39% from 12.5 to 7.58; 38% increase in estimated measured and indicated gold resources from 8.0 million to 11.0 million ounces (145.2 million tonnes averaging 2.36 g/t gold.
The 2024 PEA is a standalone mine plan that evaluates a conceptual expansion of the Courageous Lake open pit below the base of the permafrost after the 2024 PFS reserve has been completely mined out. None of the Mineral Resources used in the 2024 PEA mine plan have been used in the 2024 PFS.
Fronk noted that the 2024 PEA establishes the potential for a much longer mine life beyond the 2024 PFS. “The PFS uses less than 30% of the estimated M&I gold resource. The PEA includes inferred resources requiring more drilling as well as additional engineering work to qualify as a PFS. However, we are confident that the PEA reflects the potential for a greatly extended mine life and that the entire estimated M&I resource represents a meaningful call on gold for our shareholders.”
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources in the PEA mine plan are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Seabridge holds a 100% interest in several North American gold projects. Seabridge’s principal asset, the KSM project, and its Iskut projects are located in Northwest British Columbia, the Golden Triangle. The Courageous Lake project is in the Northwest Territories, the Snowstorm project in the Getchell Gold Belt of Northern Nevada and the 3 Aces project is in the Yukon Territory
Ausenco is a global company with its team is based across 26 offices in 15 countries, with projects in over 80 locations worldwide. Combining their deep technical expertise with a 30-year track record, Ausenco provides innovative, value-add consulting studies, project delivery, asset operations and maintenance solutions to the mining & metals and industrial sectors.