SSR Mining hits 5-million-ounce milestone at Marigold
SSR Mining Inc. [SSRM-TSX, NASDAQ, SSR-ASX] is celebrating five million ounces of gold production from its Marigold mine in Nevada. The large run-of mine heap leach operation hit that milestone on December, 30, 2024. Marigold has been in continuous operation for more than 35 years and has produced more than two million ounces of gold since its acquisition by SSR Mining in 2014, including a record 278,000 ounces of gold production in 2023.
Marigold consists of several open pits, waste rock stockpiles, leach pads, a carbon absorption facility and carbon processing and gold refining facility. The gold bars produced at the mine are shipped to a third party refinery.
“We are very proud of the Marigold team for this significant milestone,’’ said SSR Executive Chairman Rod Antal. Producing five million ounces of gold over 35 years of continuous operations is a testament to the quality of the Marigold mine and its team,’’ he said.
“Of note, Marigold still hosted nearly three million ounces of mineral reserves as of December 31, 2023, supporting a mine life of at least nine years. In 2024, we targeted approximately $10 million in growth expenditures at Marigold as we continue to meaningfully, in mine life extension opportunities at the mine, including at the Buffalo Valley Project.’’
Antal went on to say that the company looks forward to many more years of safe, responsible and successful operations at Marigold going forward.
On Tuesday, SSR shares rose 1.7% or 17 cents to $10.01. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $14.37 and $5.10.
SSR is a free cash flow focused gold company with four producing operations locate in the United States, Turkey, Canada and Argentina. Over the last three years, the four operating assets combined have produced on average more than 700,000 gold equivalent ounces annually.
Its portfolio also includes a pipeline of development and exploration assets in the U.S., Turkey, Mexico, Peru and Canada.
SSR recently said it has struck a definitive deal to acquire the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold (CC&V) Mine in Colorado from Newmont Corp. [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE, ASX, PNGX]. In an all-cash deal, Newmont will receive an upfront payment of $100 million and up to $175 million in additional milestone-based payments.
CC&V is an epithermal gold deposit located approximately 160 kilometres southwest of Denver, Colorado. The operations span three developed open pit areas with a total land package of 5,000 hectares. All of the current mineral reserves are oxides.
CC&V is expected to add approximately 170,000 ounces in annual gold production to SSR Mining’s platform, and combined with Marigold (mine in Nevada), the company’s total U.S. gold production is expected to average between 300,000 and 400,000 ounces annually.
The transaction increases SSR Mining’s scale, free cash flow, and portfolio diversification, creating the third largest U.S. gold producer.