Contango to pour first gold from Alaska mine on July 8

Contango Ore (NYSE-A: CTGO) said on Tuesday that the Manh Choh mine in Alaska will pour its first gold on July 8 at the Fort Knox mill.

The mine, a 70-30 joint venture led by operator and Fort Knox mine owner Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC), aims to produce 225,000 oz. a year from two open pits. 

“This is indeed a grand milestone event for the company and its shareholders,” Contango CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse said in a release. “Since its discovery, the Manh Choh project has stood out as a very high-quality deposit with exceptional grade for an open pit gold mine.”

The JV, previuouly known as Peak Gold, started development in 2020 on top of a group of low hills in the northern part of the Tetlin lease. Work led to a feasibility study in 2022, followed by isuccessful permitting and construction.

Stockpile

Mining operations commenced last August and ore hauling started in November, producing a sizeable stockpile of ore at Fort Knox to be processed through the mill.

Manh Choh’s pits are to be mined concurrently for about four to five years.

The deposit has a defined resource of 9.2 million tonnes in the measured and indicated category averaging 4.1 grams gold per tonne and 14 grams silver, for 1.2 million oz. of contained gold and 4.2 million oz. contained silver, according to the feasibility study. It’s based on more than 55,000 metres of drilling.

Shares in Contango Ore rose less than 1% on Tuesday to US$17.35 apiece in New York, valuing the company at US$179.8 million. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of US$14.03 to US$28.51.