Spotlight: Gold players around the world – Part 2 

With gold prices at record highs, it’s never been a better time to explore and develop gold projects. Here’s a look at four more exciting companies and their projects to watch. 

Osisko Development  

Osisko Development (TSXV, NYSE: ODV) is focused on developing its fully permitted, Cariboo gold project in central British Columbia.  

The company secured a $450 million project loan facility for Cariboo’s development and construction in July from leading investment fund Appian Capital Advisory.  

An initial draw of $100 million is being used for a 13,000-metre infill drilling campaign, detailed engineering, procurement, underground development and other early works activities. The funds were also used to repay a $25 million term loan with National Bank of Canada that matured in October. 

Since July, Osisko has raised additional capital for construction through private placements. In August it closed a $203 million financing and raised another C$82.5 million in October. 

Cariboo is expected to produce an average of 190,000 oz. gold each year over a 10-year mine life at an AISC of $1,157 per oz., according to an optimized feasibility study released in April.  

The underground operation offers an after-tax NPV (at a 5% discount rate) of C$943 million and an unlevered IRR of 22.1% at a base case gold price of $2,400 per ounce.  

The study outlined a single-stage build over 24 months and direct ramp-up to 4,900 tonnes per day. Total initial capital costs of C$881 million could be repaid in 2.8 years. 

The feasibility was based on measured and indicated resources of 17.38 million tonnes grading 2.88 grams gold and 18.77 inferred tonnes grading 3.09 grams gold. 

Osisko also owns 100% of the Tintic underground project in Utah, 95 km south of Salt Lake City. Tintic contains 23 past-producing mines and includes the Trixie gold deposit, one of several gold and base metal targets at the project. 

About 10% of the main Trixie area has been explored. A 2024 estimate for a deposit with a small footprint (380 metres long by 85 metres wide by 140 metres deep) returned 245,000 measured and indicated tonnes grading 19.11 grams gold and 60.80 grams silver. Inferred resources added 202,000 tonnes averaging 7.8 grams gold and 48.55 grams silver. 

In order to focus on its development assets, Osisko in November divested its San Antonio gold project in Sonora, Mexico. 

Osisko Development has a market cap of $1.22 billion. 

Rupert Resources  

Rupert Resources (TSX RUP; US-OTC: RUPRF) is focused on the Rupert Lapland project in northern Finland’s Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. The project, which the company acquired in 2016, consists of the multi-million-oz. Ikkari discovery and the permitted Pahtavaara mine and mill. 

Ikkari, about 810 km north of Helsinki, was a blind discovery under glacial till. The first drill hole in April 2020 returned 54 metres grading 1.54 grams gold starting from 25 metres. 

A prefeasibility study released in February envisioned a 20-year mine life consisting of an open-pit operation for the first 10 years and an underground operation for the remaining 10 years. Average production over the total life-of-mine is 167,000 oz. per year at an AISC of $918 per ounce. 

During the first decade, the open pit mine would produce an average of 227,000 oz. gold annually at AISCs of $717 per oz., primarily due to a high open-pit grade and low strip ratio of 3.7:1. The pit would extend to a depth of 300 metres below surface. 

At a gold price of $2,150 per oz., Ikkari would yield an after-tax NPV (at a 5% discount rate) of $1.7 billion and an unlevered IRR of 38%. Initial capital costs of $575 million could be repaid in 2.2 years. 

A 220 kilovolt (kV) power transformer substation is 9 km from Ikkari that can be used as a connection point to the national grid for a 110kV power line to the Ikkari minesite. 

Ikkari hosts a total of 58.43 million indicated tonnes grading 2.18 grams gold for 4.19 million oz. contained gold and 3.58 million inferred tonnes grading 1.18 grams gold for 136,000 gold ounces. 

The company plans to submit an environmental impact assessment for the project by the end of 2025. Based on an estimated 24-month environmental permitting period and a 30-month construction period, Rupert Resources forecasts the first gold pour could be as early as 2030. 

The Pahtavaara mine is currently on care and maintenance. It produced almost 450,000 oz. gold over 16 years under different ownership. Boliden’s Kevitsa copper-nickel mine and Anglo American’s (LSE: AAL) Sakatti project are within 30 km of Pahtavaara.   

The project has a working mill with a capacity of more than 1,400 tonnes per day. And roughly 35 km of underground roads and tunnelling developed since operations began.  

Rupert Resources has a market cap of $1.40 billion. 

Skeena Gold and Silver  

Skeena Gold and Silver (TSX, NYSE: SKE) is in the environmental assessment and permitting stages at its main Eskay Creek project in northwestern B.C.s Golden Triangle. 

The company was working to secure an Environmental Assessment Certificate by the end of 2025. Construction of the open pit mine could start in 2026, with initial production targeted for the first half of 2027. 

The past-producing mine could become one of the highest-grade and lowest cost open-pit precious metals mines in the world, with substantial silver by-product production. 

A 2023 definitive feasibility study outlined a 12-year mine life producing about 2.8 million oz. of gold and 81 million oz. of silver over its life. Life-of-mine cash costs were pegged at $130 per gold oz., net of silver credits and AISCs at $296 per oz. gold both on a co-product basis per payable ounce. 

At $1,800 per oz. gold and $23 per oz. silver, Eskay Creek generates an after-tax NPV at a 5% discount rate of C$2 billion and an IRR of 43%. Payback of the C$713 million initial capital cost is 1.2 years. 

Eskay Creek has proven and probable reserves of 39.8 million tonnes grading 2.6 grams gold and 68.7 grams silver for 3.3 million oz. gold and 88 million oz. silver. 

In October the company closed a C$143.8 million bought deal financing. 

Skeena Gold and Silver has a market cap of about $3.51 billion. 

SolGold  

Ecuador-focused SolGold (LSE: SOLG) holds its main Cascabel copper-gold project, which the company says could rank among South America’s 20 largest copper-gold mines. 

The company rebuffed a preliminary and conditional takeover offer from Jiangxi Copper, its largest shareholder with a 12% stake, at the end of November. SolGold’s board said it remained confident in the company’s “standalone prospects”. 

After restructuring earlier this year, SolGold is fast-tracking Cascabel into production in 2028, three to four years earlier than expected. 

The plan is to combine open-pit and underground development to reduce timelines. Open-pit mining at the Tandayama-America (TAM) deposit would start in January 2028, followed by underground extraction at Alpala by year-end. Early work at Alpala is expected to allow underground access by the end of 2027, several months ahead of the original plan.  

The 50-sq.-km Cascabel project in Imbabura province is a three-hour drive from the capital of Quito, 180 km from the Esmeraldas deep water port and 30 km from a hydropower network. 

In late November, the company reported “significant progress” in evaluating a potential near-surface starter pit at Tandayama-America, with internal studies defining a 60.2 million tonne open pit grading of 0.23% copper and 0.23 gram gold. The scenario complements the longer-term ramp up of the Alpala underground mine by providing earlier production and cash flow. 

A prefeasibility study in 2024 outlined a 28-year mine life with average annual production of 123,000 tonnes of copper, 277,000 oz. of gold and 794,000 oz. of silver. The study forecast an after-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) of $3.2 billion, an IRR of 24% and a four-year payback period from the start of processing. Pre-production capital was pegged at $1.6 billion for the initial mine development, first process plant module and infrastructure.  

The study was based on proven and probable reserves of 539.7 million tonnes grading 0.60% copper, 0.54 gram gold and 1.6 grams silver for contained metal of 3.2 million tonnes copper, 9.4 million oz. gold and 28.0 million oz. silver. 

In June SolGold delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange and in August moved its tax domicile to Switzerland. 

The company has also set up two subsidiaries to manage exploration, with one overseeing Cascabel and its northern tenements and the other overseeing the southern portfolio, which includes the Porvenir project. Porvenir lies about 100 km south of Lundin Gold’s (TSX: LUG) Fruta del Norte mine. In May the Government of Ecuador granted the project an environmental licence and a PEA is underway. 

Major shareholders at the end of October included BHP (NYSE, LSE, ASX: BHP) (10%), Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) (10%) and Jiangxi Copper. 

The company has a life-of-mine stream with Franco-Nevada and OR Royalties for 20% of gold production for the first decade and 12% thereafter. 

SolGold has a market capitalization of £630.58 million ($829 million).