Maritime Resources (TSXV: MAE; US-OTC: MRTMF) has poured first gold at its Hammerdown project in northwest Newfoundland, the first time the mine has produced yellow metal since 2004. Shares gained.
The pour comes from stockpiled material at Hammerdown and was processed at Maritime’s nearby Pine Cove mill. It caps off a year of construction and commissioning work at the mine, located near the town of Baie Verte.
“Bringing the Pine Cove mill back into operation after two years of care and maintenance, completing all project permitting and seeing the first gold poured from Hammerdown is the result of a tremendous effort by our team and the support of our shareholders, local communities and the province,” Maritime President and CEO Garett Macdonald said in a release.
M&A momentum
The milestone came just a day before New Found Gold (TSXV: NFG; NYSE-A: NFGC) announced on Thursday that its $292 million (US$212 million) deal to acquire Maritime had closed. The deal, announced in September is expected to create a multi-asset gold producer in central Newfoundland and combines New Found’s Queensway project, due to start production in 2027, with Hammerdown.
“In less than a year, New Found Gold has transformed from an early-stage exploration company to an emerging Canadian gold producer with camp-scale exploration potential,” New Found CEO Keith Boyle said in a release on Thursday. “Today we see two high-quality assets, the Queensway gold project and the Hammerdown gold project, located in a Tier 1 jurisdiction with strong synergies, come together at a time of highly favourable gold prices.”
The two projects, 180 km apart, are set to benefit from shared infrastructure including Maritime’s Pine Cove mill and the Nugget Pond hydrometallurgical plant. It’s anticipated that Maritime’s shares would be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange in the fourth quarter.
Maritime shares had gained 5.6% to $2.25 apiece when markets closed on Wednesday in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $258.8 million. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of 50¢ to $2.90.
Past producing site
Gold was last produced at Hammerdown by Richmont Mines from an underground mine from 2000 to 2004, averaging 15.7 grams gold per tonne and churning out 143,000 ounces.
Construction of Hammerdown, including development of the open pit mine is well advanced, Maritime said.
The ramp-up to full production at Hammerdown is planned for early next year.
Hammerdown could produce 50,000 oz. annually at an all-in sustaining cost of US$912 per oz., according to a 2022 feasibility study. Proven and probable reserves stand at 1.9 million tonnes grading 4.46 grams gold for 272,000 contained ounces. The feasibility study gave Hammerdown an after-tax net present value of $251 million at a 5% discount rate using a base-case gold price of US$2,500 per ounce.
Be the first to comment on "Maritime Resources pours first gold at Hammerdown"