HEAVY EQUIPMENT TRENDS EQUINOX JOINS the TOP 40 Our

CANADA ’ S FIRST MINING PUBLICATION

HEAVY EQUIPMENT TRENDS EQUINOX JOINS THE TOP 40

CANADA’S TOP Our annual ranking40 of producers

AUGUST 2020 | www.canadianminingjournal.com | PM # 40069240 Partner for positive change

The world around us – from skyscrapers, bridges and highways to the internet and all the devices connected to it – is made of aggregates, minerals and metals. The newly formed Metso Outotec provides the technologies and services needed to responsibly produce the commodities that build modern society. We lean on more than 150 years of experience to continuously innovate solutions for a more efficient and sustainable tomorrow. That’s why we are your partner for positive change.

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mogroup.com AUGUST 2020 VOL. 141, NO.6

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CANADA’S TOP 40 17 Partner for 17 Our annual ranking of Canada’s Top 40 miners. 29 Equinox Gold joins the Top 40.

FEATURES 14 Waubetek•• and Laurentian University partner to create a Centre of positive change Excellence for Indigenous Mineral Development. CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL The world around us – from skyscrapers, bridges and highways C 34 Pure GoldM poised for productionJ in Red Lake; Plus, five other gold projects to the internet and all the devices connected to it – is made of we’re watching. aggregates, minerals and metals. The newly formed Metso Outotec 34 provides the technologies and services needed to responsibly 40 Hatch shares practical ways for miners to incorporate green energy into produce the commodities that build modern society. We lean on their operations. more than 150 years of experience to continuously innovate solutions for a more efficient and sustainable tomorrow. That’s why we are NEW MINING TECHNOLOGY your partner for positive change. 43 A new gold assay method could offer a faster, simpler alternative to fire assaying.

HEAVY EQUIPMENT Over 15,000 experts in more than 47 Sandvik discusses why battery electric vehicles are 43 50 countries, all at your service. becoming more popular in mining. mogroup.com

DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITORIAL | Right now, it’s all about gold. 6 LAW | Alison Babbitt and Michael Cockburn of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada discuss how the updated Equator Principles will affect Canadian miners. 8 CSR & MINING | Carolyn Burns and Jane Church of NetPositive outline some considerations for driving anti-racism in the mining sector. ABOUT THE COVER Newmont’s Tanami gold mine, in Australia’s 10 UNEARTHING TRENDS | EY’s Theo Yameogo explains how a digital strategy Northern Territory. CREDIT: NEWMONT can help reinvent mining, during and well after COVID-19. Coming in September 11 FAST NEWS | Updates from across the mining ecosystem. Canadian Mining Journal’s annual gold issue, which will include a feature report on screens, 51 ON THE MOVE | Tracking executive, management and board changes in crushers and conveyors.. Canada’s mining sector. For More Information Please visit www.canadianminingjournal.com for regular updates on what’s happening with Canadian mining companies and their personnel mogroup.com both here and abroad. A digital version of the magazine is also available www.canadianminingjournal.com at www.digital.canadianminingjournal.com

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 3 FROM THE EDITOR

AUGUST 2020 Vol. 141 – No. 6 225 Duncan Mill Rd. Suite 320, CAToronto, NADIANOntario M3B 3K9 MINIJOURNANGL Tel. (416) 510-6789 Fax (416) 510-5138 ANSWERING MINING’S www.canadianminingjournal.com Right now, Editor-in-Chief Alisha Hiyate it’s all about gold 416-510-6742 [email protected] Twitter:•• @Cdn_Mining_Jrnl TOUGHEST QUESTIONS Alisha Hiyate News Editor Magda Gardner [email protected] MINING JOURNAJL MJ has been publishing its ranking of Canada’s Top 40 mining companies for Production Manager over 40 years. Jessica Jubb CWhile the industry has been through many shocks during that time, including [email protected] commodity price swings, the Bre-X scandal and stock market crashes, 2020 is an Art Director Barbara Burrows interesting time to be evaluating the industry’s performance. Last year’s performance was already mixed, with 22 of the Top 40 reporting a net Advisory Board David Brown (Golder Associates) profit, and 10 companies reporting a net loss for both 2019 and 2018. Michael Fox (Indigenous Community Engagement) As a backward looking exercise, the effects of the ongoing global coronavirus pan- Scott Hayne (Redpath Canada) demic, which began in earnest in March, won’t be measured until next year’s Top 40. Anthony Moreau (Iamgold) Gary Poxleitner (SRK) However, looking at the names in our ranking that have already disappeared Manager of Product Distribution through mergers during the first half of 2020 highlights some themes that will Jackie Dupuis undoubtedly show up in next year’s report. 403-209-3507 [email protected] Detour Gold (No. 20), Leagold Mining (No. 28) and Semafo (No. 30) – all gold Publisher & Sales producers – have been acquired in takeovers that closed in the first seven months of 2020. Robert Seagraves With a gold price that was heading toward US$1,900 per oz. at press time, up 416-510-6891 [email protected] from US$1,500 at the end of 2019, gold M&A is certain to continue and accelerate. Sales, Western Canada George Agelopoulos That’s likely to include more no-premium, merger-of-equal deals – a trend that began 416-510-5104 [email protected] with the Barrick Gold-Randgold tieup in 2019. (We profile Equinox Gold, a new Top Toll Free Canada & U.S.A.: 40 entry that acquired Leagold Mining in just such a deal this year, on page 29.) 1-888-502-3456 ext 2 or 43734 By the way, keep an eye on Kirkland Lake Gold, which acquired Detour Gold this Circulation Toll Free Canada & U.S.A.: January and seems determined to make it into the top 10. The company jumped 1-800-387-2446 ext 3505 eight spots this year to No. 11 – before any impacts from the Detour takeover. Group Publisher Kirkland Lake has been advancing steadily in the Top 40, climbing two spots to No. Anthony Vaccaro 19 last year, and nine spots in our 2018 ranking.

Notably, this is the first year that gold giant Newmont has been eligible for our Established 1882 Canadian Mining Journal provides articles and information of list, after closing its acquisition of Goldcorp in April 2019. This allows us to com- practical use to those who work in the technical, administrative and supervisory aspects of exploration, mining and processing pare the world’s two biggest gold miners, Newmont and Barrick Gold, which in the Canadian mineral exploration and mining industry. Canadian Mining Journal (ISSN 0008-4492) is published reported nearly identical revenue last year (see comparison on page 24-25). 10 times a year by Glacier Resource Innovation Group (GRIG). GRIG is located at 225 Duncan Mill Rd., Ste. 320, Toronto, This is also the first year that Magda Gardner, who joined our team as news editor ON, M3B 3K9. Phone (416) 510-6891. last fall, has compiled our Top 40 report. Trained as a mining engineer and having Legal deposit: National Library, Ottawa. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. The contents of this magazine are protected by worked as a research associate, Magda brings a sharp eye to the analysis. copyright and may be used only for your personal non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is Based on her experience, she’s made some changes to the ratios we use to assess prohibited. To make use of any of this material you must first Fletcher values what their customers say. Since 1937, Fletcher has been answering some obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further financial performance. She’s also separated out oilsands companies from the main information please contact Robert Seagraves at 416-510-6891. ranking, as their business is materially different from mining. Subscriptions – Canada: $51.95 per year; $81.50 for two years. of underground mining’s toughest questions. At Fletcher we provide an atmosphere for an USA: US$64.95 per year. Foreign: US$77.95 per year. Single As the two oilsands companies excluded from the main list would have both been in copies: Canada $10; USA and foreign: US$10. Canadian open dialogue with customers to ensure their operations subscribers must add HST and Provincial tax where necessary. ® the Top 10 (Suncor Energy would be No. 2 and Canadian Natural Resources at No. HST registration # 809744071RT001. From time to time we make our subscription list available to are reaching maximum ef ciency. Is your operation facing 6), readers should be aware that this means that this year’s list is not directly compara- select companies and organizations whose product or service ble with previous years. may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information obstacles that mass produced equipment isn’t addressing? CMJ to be made available, please contact us via one of the following As ever, we welcome your feedback at [email protected]. methods: Phone: 1-800-387-2446 ext 3505; Fax: 403-245-8666 ; E-mail: [email protected] Mail to: Jackie Dupuis, 2nd Flr. 816–55th Ave. N.E. Calgary, Alberta T2E 6Y4. ontact letc er. s estions. e ll a e ns ers. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

402 HIGH STREET 800.549.5491 HUNTINGTON, WV WWW.JHFLETCHER.COM

J.H. Fletcher & Co. cannot anticipate every mine hazard that may develop during use of these products. Follow your mine plan and/or roof control plan prior to use of the product. Proper use, maintenance and continued use of (OEM) original equipment parts will be essential for maximum operating results. 2020 J.H. Fletcher & Co. All Rights reserved. 4 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com

2020 CMJ Narrow Bolter.indd 1 2/10/2020 1:01:54 PM ANSWERING MINING’S TOUGHEST QUESTIONS

Fletcher values what their customers say. Since 1937, Fletcher has been answering some of underground mining’s toughest questions. At Fletcher we provide an atmosphere for an open dialogue with customers to ensure their operations ® are reaching maximum ef ciency. Is your operation facing obstacles that mass produced equipment isn’t addressing?

ontact letc er. s estions. e ll a e ns ers.

402 HIGH STREET 800.549.5491 HUNTINGTON, WV WWW.JHFLETCHER.COM

2020 CMJ Narrow Bolter.indd 1 2/10/2020 1:01:54 PM LAW

The new Equator Principles: the implications for Canadian mining

By Alison Babbitt and Michael Cockburn

he past decade has seen a significant rise in the prominence whose domestic environmental and social laws and regulations of environmental and social issues relating to project devel- are considered sufficiently robust, and “non-designated coun- opment.T Investors, governments, lenders and communities are tries” with less developed rules, where the Equator Principles increasingly focused on promoting sustainable development, would apply. Canada is a designated country, and as a result mitigating climate change, and preventing human rights abuses. mining projects in Canada were previously subject only to In addition to the moral imperative of these goals, investors are domestic environmental rules and regulations. With EP4, while growing more aware of the benefits to their bottom line – proj- domestic Canadian mining projects may now also be required to ects with strong environmental and social bona fides have been comply with certain IFC Performance Standards. demonstrated to outperform those of competitors with weaker policies in the medium to long term. Planning ahead Recognizing the imperative for – and the benefit of – more Mining companies in Canada should familiarize themselves responsible, sustainable global development, mining companies with the revised EP4 standards. They are not intended to apply and international institutions have been taking the initiative to retroactively, but they may require additional diligence, report- set up their own risk management frameworks to promote ing and other obligations for mining companies and financial enhanced environmental and social standards. institutions on future projects. There are a number of steps The Equator Principles are one such global risk management project sponsors and lenders can take to smooth the transition: framework. Initially published in 2003, the Equator Principles Start the conversation early – doing so gives everyone an have since been adopted by 105 major banks and financial insti- opportunity to understand expectations. Project sponsors should tutions around the world, including many Canadian banks. understand how lenders plan to categorize their project’s risk The principles are used by signatories, or Equator Principle level, and what that means for additional stakeholder engagement Financial Institutions (EPFIs), as a common baseline in identify- and reporting obligations over the life of the project. Will EPFIs ing, assessing and managing the environmental and social risks in be requesting the support of an independent environmental and mining and other projects they finance. They provide a minimum social consultant? Will IFC Performance Standards apply? If so, standard for due diligence and monitoring to support responsible which ones and why? Answering these and other questions early risk decision-making. EPFIs that have adopted the principles allows parties to create a road map for the project before time and commit to implementing them in their internal environmental energy is spent on unnecessary or inadequate procedures. and social standards for financing projects and to not provide Review corporate environmental and social regimes – this funding for projects where the client cannot or will not comply. is an opportunity for project sponsors to review their corporate The Equator Principles Association has released a fourth ver- strategy and analyze if and how environmental and social prin- sion of the Equator Principles, known as “EP4”, that will come ciples have already been integrated into their policies and proce- into effect on Oct. 1. dures, and make any necessary changes. Consider training needs too, with the goal of developing internal talent capable of under- EP4 — What’s new? standing and implementing the standards required under EP4. EP4 both expands the application and strengthens the content Seek external guidance – mining companies that do not of the Equator Principles. The changes include lowering the possess internal expertise in these matters should consider threshold for in-scope projects to US$50 million, incorporating whether to acquire or to engage professional expertise. the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human These steps will allow project sponsors and lenders alike to Rights, and adding in reporting requirements for project spon- recognize and mitigate environmental and social risks, while sors related to biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions that are minimizing their reputational exposure. CMJ similar to the standards set out in the Recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. ALISON BABBITT is an English and Ontario-qualified project finance partner whose practice Perhaps the most significant change in the Canadian context focuses on mining, renewables and clean technology. MICHAEL COCKBURN is a corporate and is the fact that EP4 will now apply to domestic projects. The commercial lawyer who works in project financing, M&A and public private partnerships. They are Equator Principles distinguish between “designated countries,” both based in the Ottawa office of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada.

6 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com The new Equator Principles: the implications for Canadian mining

JUNE 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 7 CSR & MINING

Get comfortable being uncomfortable: Driving anti-racism in mining

By Carolyn Burns and Jane Church

nti-racism is the active practice of opposing racism and Being anti-racist is not only a job for promoting racial tolerance. In May, the murder of George Black, Indigenous or other people of AFloyd while in police custody was the catalyst for a global dis- colour. All people, including White people, cussion and reckoning about anti-racism. In Canada, the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi have to be part of the work. White people as well as the assault of Chief Allen Adam has reinforced that have to make space for Black, Indigenous discussion. Individuals, governments, companies and civil soci- and other people of colour to lead, to ety organizations across the country are thinking and talking share, and to be taken seriously. about anti-racism in a way we never have before. We are col- lectively launching ourselves into a new discussion asking: What is anti-racism? What does it mean for me personally? What does it look like for my organization? How does it affect the decisions I make? Where do I start? How do I talk about w it? Where do I go to learn? What if I mess it up? Their supply chain, specifically what requirements are put If you are navigating this discussion in your workplace or into contracts; and w personally, or both, here are some things to think about. The partnerships they choose to support with educational institutions and civil society organizations. Listen, reflect and get comfortable being uncomfortable A good place to start is to educate yourself. Start by listening to White people have to be part of the work other people, reading, and sharing resources. Understanding and Being anti-racist is not only a job for Black, Indigenous or other unwinding the systems and histories that have led us here people of colour. In order to take this seriously and be effective, threatens to destabilize the world that many people know. It is all people, including White people, have to be part of the work. not easy and will be uncomfortable. If your first reaction is to get It’s not up to Black, Indigenous, and other racialized people to angry and deny other people’s experience – acknowledge that. fix the problem. BUT (and this is a major but) White people Sit with it. Try to understand why it is so uncomfortable. Don’t have to make space for Black, Indigenous and other people of shy away from it. Being uncomfortable and challenged is a big colour to lead, to share, and to be taken seriously. It’s a line part of the process. between listening and providing space for Black and other racialized employees to participate and not making them Understand your scope of influence responsible for systemic changes and for educating people. No organization lives in a vacuum. Racism and prejudice are Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are an important way of overarching. But to be effective, organizations, especially smaller understanding the lived experience of the workforce, but they ones, have to be clear about their scope of influence. What does can’t be the sole resource that drives anti-racism work. This is a the organization have control over? Where does the organiza- very different conversation for people with lived experience of tion have expertise? In what environments does the organization racism. Sharing your lived experience with colleagues and peers have power? Companies in the mining sector have control over: can be an incredibly exhausting and challenging experience. w Employment practices, including training, recruiting, hiring, People who participate in ERGs need to be given the time, space and promotions; and resources to participate. w Their approach to community relations and commitments related to land use; Understand the link to mining activity w Their management of social and environmental impacts, Racism and prejudice touch every part of our society. They are which can have a disproportionally negative impact on racial- overarching and no sector is immune. Anti-racism is particularly ized groups; relevant to the mining sector because:

8 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com w The natural resource sector has played a historical and ongo- You’re not alone ing role in supporting and benefiting from racist economic The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission describes rec- policies and land access practices. Resource extraction drove onciliation as “establishing and maintaining a mutually respect- colonialist policies and has had a lasting effect on land own- ful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples ership and access, Indigenous Peoples economic and cultural in this country. For that to happen, there has to be awareness of practices and Canada’s economic and political systems (see the past, acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, the 2019 Land Back report by the Yellowhead Institute). atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.” w The mining sector is one of Canada’s largest employers. In Recognizing that change must begin internally is difficult for 2016, the sector represented 21% of Canada’s workforce, but both resource companies and individuals. There are signs of only 9% identified as a visible minority. The mining industry movement in the industry though, such as from Suncor, which is one of the largest employers of Indigenous People in acknowledges it needs to “change the way we think and act.” Canada, representing 7% of the mining workforce in 2016. Suncor is also one of the few companies to make a statement This number hides the lack of diversity in management roles about anti-Black racism. however, and should be higher given the effect and proximity Use this moment to build relationships and drive this discus- of mining on Indigenous communities. sion with your peers, partners, community partners and w The social and environmental impacts from mining activity Indigenous groups. You’re not alone in this. This moment is an have disproportionate impacts on racialized groups, in partic- opportunity to shift the industry. We hope we look back in 10 ular Indigenous People. This can include the experience peo- years and see this as a line in the sand. CMJ ple have as employees, decisions made about hiring and procurement that disadvantage racialized groups, and the CAROLYN BURNS is director of operations at NetPositive, a non-profit that works with diverse failure to protect cultural heritage such as the Juukan Gorge stakeholders to help local communities see sustained positive outcomes from mining. explosion in Australia this past May. JANE CHURCH is a co-founder and director of collaboration with NetPositive.

Don’t silo the discussion Diversity and inclusion have been a priority for leading companies in the mining industry for over decade. Anti-racism is an important, but often ignored, part of diversity and inclusion work. Anti-racism should be central to an organization’s work on diversity and inclusion, including: w Awareness and education. Learn and share resources about what racism is, where it comes from and how it is perpetuated (explicitly and implicitly). Develop resource lists for your staff, management and other stakeholders. Make it mandatory to participate in anti-racism or intercultural awareness training – Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) just published a new training program that is free for the next year. w Systems and process change (recruitment, hiring, and promo- Environmental impacts are mitigated. tions, land agreements, expectations and commitments to Closure is planned from the start. managing environmental and social impacts). Work with an Communities are bettered. expert to dissect the company’s operations and understand Together we can create a legacy of value. how they can or do support anti-racism. w Culture change. Preventing both covert and overt experiences with racism and creating a space where people feel comfortable bring their full self to work. We thrive Put your money where your mouth is on challenges Work with an expert and pay people for their time. The average person is not an expert in anti-racism work or even diversity and inclusion. There is a difference between someone who has lived experience and one who has studied organizational change and psychology. Find an organization to help support this process golder.com and pay them as you would any other consultant.

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 9 UNEARTHING TRENDS

Pivoting from crisis to transformation

By Theo Yameogo

ost mining and metals executives agree that the current Throughout the digital journey, companies can pull the fol- pandemic has exposed the shortcomings of traditional lowing five levers to stay relevant, while achieving their goals businessM operation models and, at the same time, validated the faster at a lower cost of failure. value and imperative for digital transformation in key business 1. Digital strategy and continuous ideation: continue to think functions. Although some companies have already progressed through the fundamentals that that led to the strategy, with with digital transformation, its broad adoption in the sector a constant focus on profitability, productivity and long-term could be still considered embryonic and misunderstood. value. For many years, the adoption of artificial intelligence and 2. Innovation ecosystem: forgetting about innovation in a digital data-driven decision-making to increase productivity has helped transformation strategy is a mistake we see all too often. some companies fare better in this landscape. Now, the oppor- Mining and metals companies should look beyond the sector tunity lies in the combination of data and analytics, AI, automa- for innovation to find partnerships with external ecosystems tion, robotics and virtual ecosystems to reinvent the organization such as start-ups, accelerators, venture capital or academics. across the value chain. Given that each company faces a unique For example, recurring meetings with key suppliers could set of circumstances and varying appetite, the common funda- enlighten the sector on what investments and avenues are mental self-assessment question is: how can a digital transfor- being contemplated, and which could profoundly change the mation strategy drive actions today that are tied to a bigger mining business. purpose in the future? 3. Organization and process: discover how to set up the business During my interactions with members of the industry across differently to drive and revitalize the innovation agenda, while the country through the CIM Distinguished Lecturer Series, measuring ongoing success. Consider the people you assign to there was a general consensus that successful transition into these teams. Far too often employees that are already digital transformation requires a timeline prioritization of swamped with work are placed on digital transformation intent, actions and impacts between now, next and beyond. teams, pushing the strategy back in long list of priorities. Right Now, companies need to focus on redefining their 4. Enterprise scale: build the capabilities needed to scale innova- organization’s agenda by addressing issues and challenges tion more quickly to create enterprise-wide impact – while unearthed or exposed during COVID-19. For example, trusted looking at what can be built vs. bought. One simple example re-entry should include reviewing current workplace and work- is digital signatures. This was a tool that could be imple- force models to test and secure collaboration platforms so that a mented in a human resources function and then scaled to all physical return to work strategy is more than just transitioning facets of the business. It allows the company to then catego- back to the old ways. rize and archive documents, while streamlining processes Next, establish a digital transformation strategy and prioritize across the organization. delivery of immediate and meaningful results that will drive and 5. Culture and talent: engage and empower the workforce. sustain enterprise-wide engagement on the transformation jour- Selectively release old practices to create space for renewal. ney. To achieve such levels of commitment and reap the rewards Advance digital as a core capability through hiring, develop- of the invested efforts, the sector should look at creating an ing, training and incentivizing employees to develop new ecosystem of partners within and outside of the industry. skills and digital capabilities. Typically, a comprehensive vision statement, along with initial key pillars, execution team and governance model should under- With COVID-19 and its impacts, fast-tracking digital trans- pin such strategy for it to be useful and drive results. formation is an imperative for the mining and metals sector. Beyond COVID-19, companies will need to refine or Accelerating the use of collaborative technologies, cloud-based redefine the purpose of their long-term value generation so that ecosystems and intelligent platforms can speed recovery and it aligns with the digital evolution of the rest of the world. For create a competitive advantage in a post-pandemic world. CMJ example, rethinking the approach to talent and culture that will be required to operate in a digital world by creating an environ- THEO YAMEOGO is the EY Canada Mining & Metals Co-Leader focused on helping ment of continuous innovation and adoption of technology companies execute digital transformation. He is based in Toronto. For more insights, visit breakthroughs. www.ey.com/en_ca/mining-metals.

10 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com FAST NEWS Updates from across the mining ecosytem

• SAFETY | Newcrest tests secondary drilling and blasting technology from MacLean, Orica

ewcrest Mining’s Cadia Valley underground mine in New South NWales has successfully tested new technology from MacLean Engineering and Orica in a 30-day trial. The site used remote drilling, loading and wireless blasting to remove the workers from major hazards around draw points at Cadia East. As part of the trial, Newcrest tested MacLean Engineering’s new secondary break drill and blast system (Automated Explosive Charger) as well as Orica’s Wireless Blasting System (WebGen 100) in an isolated area. Secondary break activities are used when oversized rocks need to be removed from the draw point. Although many Secondary break trial at Newcrest’s Cadia mine in Australia using MacLean Engineering’s Auto Explosive Loader oversized rocks can be handled by prepa- enabled with Orica’s WebGen wireless technology. CREDIT: NEWCREST ration loaders or rock breakers, some of these require explosives, with workers can then remove the drill rig, leave the area streamline an entire process in an under- accessing the area to wire up each con- and remotely detonate the explosive, using ground mining environment,” he said. ventional explosive used. a wireless device manufactured by Orica. Patrick Marshall, MacLean’s VP of MacLean’s secondary break drill and Aaron Brannigan, Cadia’s acting gen- product management, added that finding blast system removes workers from these eral manager, said the trial demonstrated safe and efficient ways to introduce secondary break activities: the company the opportunity for significant safety ben- remote or autonomous fleet operations is has developed a prototype ‘bolt-on’ piece efits, through eliminating human expo- a key area of technology development at of equipment, which attaches to existing sure to the major hazards associated with MacLean and that partnerships are a secondary break drill rigs. This Auto secondary break activities. critical part of this process. Explosive Loader (AEL) can drill a hole “The partnership with MacLean and The next step would be a more com- into a rock and push the wireless explosive Orica has been mutually beneficial as it prehensive test in a production environ- inside the hole, without the operator leav- has enabled specialist contracting part- ment to further assess the safety and ing the cab of the drill rig. The operator ners to bring together their devices to productivity of the system. CMJ

• BATTERIES | Vale, Epiroc sign Batteries as a Service deal

ale and mining gear maker Epiroc have finalized the Vworld’s first Batteries as a Service (BaaS) agreement. Under the agreement, Epiroc will work directly with Vale to CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 define a battery plan that suits the needs of its operations. Then, the Swedish company will be in charge of monitoring the batteries for predictive maintenance with reduced downtime and guarantee their lifespan. Epiroc’s BaaS team will also be responsible for removing old batteries from mine sites and replacing them with new ones. Epiroc has signed the world’s first Batteries as a Service (BaaS) agreement with Vale. The older batteries will be then used for secondary applications CREDIT: EPIROC and will be recycled at the end of the process. Along with the BaaS agreement, Epiroc said in a release that will also be adding three of Epiroc’s charging cabinets and seven it will be providing Vale with 10 battery-electric vehicles for two charging posts for equipment support,” reads the release. CMJ Canadian mine sites. “To complement the new battery fleet, Vale This story originally appeared on www.Mining.com

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 11 FAST NEWS Updates from across the mining ecosytem

• GRINDING | Outotec introduces HIGmill modular solution

afety is one of the biggest challenges in the mining industry, especially during construction and equipment installation. AtS the same time there is pressure to speed up return on investment and minimize plant footprints. The Outotec HIGmill Plant (HMP) is a stand-alone, modular solution for fine grinding that addresses these conflicting requirements. The Outotec HIGmill plant. The HMP consists of a vertical HIGmill unit and pre-engi- CREDIT: OUTOTEC neered auxiliary equipment modules to reduce engineering, delivery, construction, and commissioning time and cost while while the HIGmill provides process flexibility by adjusting the still providing a safe solution with the flexibility to meet various speed to match the energy input for the required product particle process, layout, and regulatory requirements. size. This minimizes the risk of operational challenges and Modules are preassembled in the factory to reduce safety risks reduced recoveries resulting from variable process conditions. and maintain the highest possible quality while also reducing “The HMP combines Outotec’s leading fine grinding tech- on-site construction time and cost. The modules and vertical nology with faster installation and compact footprint while HIGmill can be arranged in a compact footprint to suit the maintaining safety standards,” said Riddhika Jain, product man- specific site layout, minimizing layout and engineering work. ager, in a release.”This stand-alone modular solution comes in The HMP includes an Outotec PSI 500i particle size ana- easily installable pre-assembled sections to speed up returns on lyzer for continuous online process monitoring and feedback, investment.” CMJ

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12 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com • RENEWABLE ENERGY | SHYFTinc and Rentricity turn mine water usage into hydro power

HYFTinc has established a new Samson says: “Usually, the energy in technology initiative with those valves produces heat in what’s RentricityS to bring Rentricity’s already a hot environment; we can innovative electricity production turn the pressure into power instead.” from gravity-fed or pressurized In-pipe hydro energy recovery water pipelines directly into mines. within water distribution networks Rentricity has successfully imple- is proven, reliable, and cost-effec- mented its renewable energy in-pipe tive. The technology is simple: It hydro in the drinking water industry uses traditional and proven pumps since 2010. The company is now as turbines with advanced controls turning its attention to mining oper- SHYFTinc provides solutions for the mining sector, including the NRG1-ECO to manage pressure while creating ations with large water flows that energy management system. CREDIT: SHYFTINC clean electricity. The clean, renew- offset electricity costs with the able electricity is then used for MinetricitySM product line. powering systems in the immediate “We are excited about the prospects of working with area of the mine, or can be easily integrated into a mine’s elec- SHYFTinc and addressing multiple applications within mine trical system, or stored on energy storage systems for back-up water distribution,” said Frank Zammataro, CEO and cofounder purposes. of Rentricity. “SHYFTinc brings both a deep understanding of “Rentricity brings proven equipment and first-class experi- the mining environment and existing partners with the ability to ence for addressing water pipeline,” says Samson. “Supporting execute sustainable microgrids within mines.” the on-site generation of clean electricity will become a best “The MinetricitySM products provide multiple solutions in a practice that will elevate the Canadian mining industry to a mining environment,” said Tyler Samson, president of SHYFTinc. higher standard of sustainability.” “The products can be installed in the mine’s water distribution SHYFTinc will be aligning with their INOVINTA team- piping from 4" to 36" diameters and mimic the function of pres- mates at BESTECH Engineering to provide a full design, sure reducing valves.” That adds value in a couple of ways, installation and support package. CMJ

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AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 13 FIRST NATIONS

WAUBETEK, LAURENTIAN, launch mining resource FOR FIRST NATIONS New Centre of Excellence aims to build capacity

By D’Arcy Jenish

etween 2012 and 2016, Stacey tiative was a grand success. 180 Indigenous men and women were Vincent Cress served as employee Training programs were available for employed at the Detour mine, repre- development co-ordinator with truck drivers, mining equipment drivers senting 28% of the workforce. To put BToronto-based Detour Gold (now part of and health and safety officers as well as that in perspective, Indigenous employ- Kirkland Lake Gold) to train Indigenous for jobs in the processing plant. By the ment accounts for 11.2% of the jobs in people for jobs at the company’s name- time the program was complete, and the the province’s 40 mines, according to the sake open pit mine located some 180 km mine was in full production, upwards of Ontario Mining Association. northeast of Cochrane, Ont. The train- Historically, such success stories have ing was conducted under the auspices of Dawn Madabhee Leach, general manager of Waubetek, tended to be the exception rather than Impact and Benefit Agreements between and Rio Tinto’s Richard Storrie, president and CEO of the rule. Indeed, for more than a cen- Detour and three nearby First Nations the Diavik mine, exchange a gift at the Canada 2020 tury, mining has been a cornerstone communities, as well as the Metis Nation Annual Indigenous Economic Development Forum. of the economy of northern Ontario – of Ontario, and by any measure, the ini- CREDIT: RIO TINTO employing thousands of people directly

14 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com and indirectly and pumping millions of Nations communities. Last November, dollars annually into local communities the company signed a partnership agree- in the form of wages and taxes. But, for ment with the Innu of Ekuanishit to the most part, the economic benefits have create employment and economic devel- not enriched the dozens of First Nations opment opportunities at the company’s communities scattered across the north. open-pit titanium dioxide mine near the “There’s a lot of mining in northern town of Havre-Saint-Pierre on Quebec’s Ontario,” says Dawn Madabhee Leach, North Shore. general manager of the Birch Island- In February, Rio Tinto signed its New based Waubetek Business Development Day agreement with B.C.’s Cheslatta Corp. “A lot of our communities have Carrier First Nation. The company’s been on the outside looking in.” Nechako hydroelectric reservoir and gen- Waubetek is out to change that. The First Nations erating station, which supplies electricity corporation, where Cress is now mining communities are often to its aluminum smelting operation in project manager, serves 27 First Nation overwhelmed when they Kitimat, is located on the traditional lands communities in an area stretching from of the Cheslatta Carrier. Under the agree- Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury to North receive permits and they’re ment, Rio Tinto will provide job training, Bay and along the northern and east- not sure how to process employment, and business opportunities ern shores of Georgian Bay. Since 1999, them. With the Centre of at its hydro-electric operation, as well as Waubetek has provided financing and Excellence, they can reach environmental stewardship. economic development services to over out to an Indigenous-led In addition, the company has worked 3,000 Aboriginal-owned businesses. organization where they closely with First Nations of the Northwest In 2015, the chiefs of those 27 First Territories to ensure that the Diavik dia- Nations communities instructed the staff can get answers. They can mond mine benefitted remote, north- at Waubetek to develop a mining strat- become informed and ern communities. Currently, Indigenous egy aimed at improving opportunities for make informed People, most of whom are from the individuals as well as Aboriginal-owned decisions.” North, comprise 27% of the workforce of companies. Among other things, the cor- – STACEY VINCENT CRESS, 1,100. In 2018, Diavik purchased goods poration is attempting to create an asso- MINING PROJECT MANAGER, and service valued at $158.4 million from ciation of Indigenous mining suppliers as WAUBETEK BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORP. Indigenous-owned business and between well as a mining human resources data- 2000 and 2018 such purchases totalled $3 base for Indigenous employees and job billion. seekers. “The catalyst for us investing in the Earlier this year, Waubetek reached an ate opportunities for people,” says Abols. Centre of Excellence and becoming agreement with Laurentian University in “We can help connect the right people a partner was Dawn’s leadership and Sudbury to create a Centre of Excellence and help them get the tools they need to vision,” says Todd Malan, Rio Tinto’s for Indigenous Mineral Development – build capacity.” Washington, D.C.-based vice-president an ambitious project that may eventually The centre, which will be located on of corporate relations. “Dawn really wants benefit First Nations communities across the Laurentian campus and initially will to make sure First Nations have the tools the province, the country and potentially employ an executive director and an assis- required to understand what they have in Indigenous groups in other countries. tant, has received funding from Natural terms of mineral resources and rights.” “It’s all about building Indigenous Resources Canada and FedNor, the fed- That can be more complicated than capacity in the mining sector, but also to eral government economic development it sounds even in a region like Northern build the capacity of mining companies to agency for Northern Ontario. Montreal- Ontario with long-established mines work with Indigenous People and com- based Rio Tinto Canada – the first private producing nickel, copper, gold and zinc. panies,” says Madabhee Leach. sector partner – has agreed to contribute “There are all sorts of newly-attractive Jennifer Abols, executive director $1 million over the next five years. minerals and metals like vanadium,” of Laurentian’s Goodman School of Malan says. “One of the things the centre Mines and president and chief execu- Rio Tinto contribution can do is help First Nations understand tive of MIRARCO (Mining Innovation The contribution is part of Rio Tinto’s what they have in their territories, how Rehabilitation and Applied Research commitment to working with First valuable it is and what it’s used for.” Corp.), says that the university, with its mining-focused departments and pro- Dawn Madabhee Leach and Robert Haché, president 2021 launch grams, is a natural home for the new of Laurentian University sign a letter of intent to Conflict resolution is another high-po- centre. “The biggest gain for everybody create the Centre of Excellence for Mineral tential role for the centre, says Waubetek is being able to build capacity and cre- Development at PDAC 2020. CREDIT: LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 15 FIRST NATIONS

Left: Rio Tinto’s Lac Tio mine, in Quebec. Right: Signing an agreement between Rio Tinto and B.C.’s Cheslatta Carrier First Nation in February. CREDIT: RIO TINTO It’s all about building Indigenous capacity in the mining sector, but also to build COUNT ON GIW the capacity of mining companies to work with Indigenous people and FOR RELIABLE companies.” – DAWN MADABHEE LEACH, GENERAL MANAGER, WAUBETEK BUSINESS PERFORMANCE. DEVELOPMENT CORP.

mining project manager Cress. Most First Nations communities don’t have the in-house expertise necessary to assess the complex exploration, development and environmental permits granted to mining companies operating on or near their traditional territories. That can and fre- quently does lead to opposition to mineral development. “First Nations communities are often overwhelmed when they receive permits and they’re not sure how to process them,” Cress says. “With the Centre of Excellence they can reach out to an Indigenous-led organization where they can get answers. They can become informed and make informed decisions.” Waubetek is hoping to have an executive director in place by October, with a public launch planned for PDAC 2021 and services available by April 2021. ® GIW pumps deliver reliable performance in the Cress says the centre will focus initially most aggressive slurries. on assisting the 27 First Nations within GIW Industries is built tough too. We are more committed than ever to its service area, but will expand its reach providing our partners with an uninterrupted supply of pumps and parts. once established. “We’d eventually like We will stop at nothing to ensure the success of your operation. to have satellite offices or affiliations with Learn more at www.giwminerals.com. universities elsewhere in Canada and even the U.S.” he says. “Internationally there’s so many opportunities. There’s Indigenous People throughout the world that could benefit from the Centre of Excellence.” CMJ

16 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com Barrick Gold’s 80%-owned Loulo mine in Mali. CREDIT: BARRICK GOLD

CANADA’S TOP40

A YEAR OF CONSOLIDATION CMJ NEWS EDITOR MAGDA GARDNER TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE OF CANADA’S TOP 40 MINING COMPANIES

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 17 CANADA’S TOP40

Consolidation takes root among miners Newmont debuts on our list at No. 2

By Magda Gardner

s we kick off our 42nd annual Top Impala Platinum by October. Imperial $13 billion – see Figure 1 for a visual rep- 40 round up of miners in Canada, Metals is another company leaving our resentation of the 40 revenue numbers. Athis year’s numbers speak to some of roundup, as the miner sold a 70% stake in Like Newmont, Barrick has also the major news stories of the past few its Red Chris open pit to Australia’s grown significantly over the past two years. Underlying these is the theme of Newcrest in August for US$807 million years, as in September 2018, it announced consolidation among some of the biggest and its revenues from last year don’t meet plans to merge with African-focused companies, which, over the past few years our Top 40 cutoff. As a result of this Randgold Resources. The deal, valued at grew considerably through mergers and transaction, the company classified Red US$18 billion, closed at the beginning of acquisitions and generate the bulk of the Chris as a discontinued operation for January 2019. revenues in our analysis. We will con- both the eight-and-a-half month period In addition to these larger transactions, tinue to watch this trend as 2020 unfolds in 2019 as well as 2018 and restated in July, Newmont and Barrick formed a and a pandemic-driven gold rally spurs income statements, which, in retrospect, joint venture in Nevada – Nevada Gold M&A among intermediate and junior would also impact the company’s position Mines – where both miners generate a miners to see whether the revenue distri- on our ranking last year. substantial portion of their production bution shifts amongst industry players. from multiple assets. This came as a result The biggest addition to this year’s list is Nutrien tops the list – again of Barrick’s hostile bid for Newmont, Newmont, following its US$10-billion Last year, potash continued to hold the which it launched shortly after the acquisition of Goldcorp, which closed in top spot, with Nutrien coming in first for Newmont-Goldcorp tieup was announced. April 2019. The gold miner now holds the second year in a row with $26.6 bil- Although this bid was ultimately rejected, operating mines in Canada and thus lion in reported revenues. The company the two agreed to join forces across most of meets the criteria for our list, despite its was formed in January 2018 as a result of their assets in the state. U.S.-based headquarters. a $36-billion merger between Agrium Interestingly, the revenue growth Notable departures include North and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan. between 2018 and 2019 for both ‘Newmont American Palladium, where a turnaround From here, gold producers take over 2.0’ and ‘Barrick 2.0’ was nearly identical, at its Lac des Îles mine coupled with an the next two spots – Newmont, followed at just over 37%. upswing in palladium prices spurred a by Barrick, with the two reporting nearly Rounding out the top five are two (pri- $1-billion cash bid from South Africa’s identical headline revenues of just under marily) base metals producers – Teck

18 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com At Leagold’s RDM mine in Brazil, now part of Resources with revenues of $11.9 billion, Year-on-year revenue moves driven by Equinox Gold after a March 2020 merger of the both fundamentals and M&A two companies. CREDIT: EQUINOX GOLD followed by First Quantum Minerals, with $5.4 billion in sales. Impressively, it When looking at substantial numbers, Top: Newmont’s Ahafo mill in Ghana. CREDIT: NEWMONT is these top ﬁve companies that generated context is often helpful, and this is where Above left: Nutrien’s Rocanville potash mine in over 60% of the total revenues in our Top comparing numbers against last year’s can Saskatchewan. CREDIT: NUTRIEN 40 list. From here, the remainder of the shed some light on corporate develop- Above right: Pan American Silver’s La Colorada silver top 10 includes three gold producers ments. We note that this year, we have operation in Mexico. CREDIT: PAN AMERICAN SILVER (Kinross Gold, Agnico Eagle Mines and chosen a slightly different methodology Yamana Gold), one diversiﬁed miner – for the Top 40 – oilsands producers are in Lundin Mining – and Cameco, a ura- a separate table, outside of the main rank- nium company. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 19 CANADA’S Consolidation takes root among miners, continued from page 19 % TOP40 75 ing – and that a handful of companies Equinox Gold – a company new to our of the restated their 2018 revenue numbers, ‘Top 40’- with revenues increasing almost which could affect last year’s rankings. tenfold, to $374 million from $39 million TOP 40 When comparing year-on-year in 2018. A full year of production from are primarily changes in revenue, the standout is the Mesquite open pit as well as the precious metals companies

xceptional xploration Aurizona mine, which achieved commer- xpression xact cial production in July, led to this upswing xcellence (see page 29). xtraordinary xcel xperts Pan American Silver is another major xperienced xecutives xtra revenue mover, with sales increasing to xert xhilarating xplorer $1.8 billion, up 76% over the prior year. GOLD CORP xcavation xamine This company’s 2019 financials were largely propelled by M&A, with the closing of a US$1-billion acquisition of Tahoe Resources in February 2019. Production growth from existing mines drove year-on-year revenue Eagle Gold Mine increases for Kirkland Lake Gold, COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION ACHIEVED Champion Iron Mines and Torex Gold 210,000 oz Au per year for 11+ years Resources. New mines inched sales higher for both Semafo and SSR Mining, with 2019 representing the first full year of production for both the Boungou and Puna operations, respectively. Also along the revenue spectrum, some companies did not record major moves year-on-year. Notably, the five “Runners-up” companies that meet the criteria for the Top 40 but just miss the revenue mark, all reported headline sales for 2019 within $15 million of those from the year prior. These include Golden Star Resources, a gold miner with two mines in Ghana, Fortuna Silver with mines in Mexico and Peru, as well as three base metals miners – Taseko Mines, Sierra Metals and Copper Mountain Mining.

Revenues don’t always translate into profits Headline revenue numbers are in no way a measure of a company’s proﬁtability. The traditional net income measure is one; cash flow generated from operations is TSX VGCX | VGCX.COM another metric that can help assess mines’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

20 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com The Kibali joint venture mine in Democratic Republic of Congo, How we choose the Top 40 owned by Barrick Gold (45%) AngloGold Ashanti, and Société Miniére de Kilo-Moto (10%). CREDIT: BARRICK GOLD BARRICK GOLD To be eligible for CMJ’s Top 40 Canadian miners list companies must meet two of the following three criteria: 1 Be domiciled in Canada. 2 Trade on a Canadian stock exchange. 3 Have a significant share of an operating mine or advanced development in Canada.

Sometimes we have been tripped up and non-Canadian miners have slipped onto the list. However, we have put extra effort into checking the eligibility of all the miners on the current list. We remain open to the suggestions of our readers.

THE FINE PRINT We recognize that revenues are an imperfect are outside of the main ranking (see page based on production (or sales, if available) way of looking at companies, as they discount 23), and a handful of companies have and average commodity prices and exchange the value of near-term expansions and restated revenues after the publication of last rates for the period. development projects. Since the cutoff for our year’s Top 40. Lastly, financial results are largely impacted Top 40 can be very close, we have also For comparability, cash flow from by commodity prices and exchange rates. included a runners-up table to highlight other operations is after changes in working capital Given the predominance of gold miners within companies generating strong revenues. Please across the companies. For two of the our ranking, we provide a price comparison see above for the criteria for our Top 40 companies on our list, Detour and Leagold, for the yellow metal: in 2019, the gold price eligibility, which is unchanged from past years. their respective acquisitions closed before the averaged US$1,393 per oz., while in 2018 it Rankings between this year and last are publication of full-year financials. We have averaged US$1,269 per oz. The U.S. dollar not directly comparable: oilsands producers estimated revenues for the fourth quarter cost $1.33 in 2019 and $1.30 in 2018.

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AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 21 Canadian dollars | All ﬁgures in the tables are CANADA’S expressed in millions of TOP40 Canadian dollars.

Canada’s Top 40 by gross revenue

C$ millions 2019 2018

Rank Rank Net Operating Net Operating 2019 2018 Company Ticker Primary output Revenue income cash flow Revenue income cash flow

1 1 Nutrien NTR Potash $26,569 $1,316 $4,863 $25,442 $4,630 $2,659 2 - Newmont NGT Gold $12,924 $3,722 $3,803 $9,398 $442 $2,367 3 5 Barrick Gold ABX Gold $12,893 $6,069 $3,759 $9,385 ($1,859) $2,287 4 2 Teck Resources TECK Diversified $11,934 $356 $3,484 $12,564 $3,145 $4,438 5 6 First Quantum Minerals FM Copper $5,397 ($68) $1,180 $5,139 $658 $2,565 6 7 Kinross Gold K Gold $4,641 $952 $1,625 $4,163 ($33) $1,022 7 9 Agnico Eagle Mines AEM Gold $3,310 $628 $1,170 $2,839 ($423) $785 8 11 Lundin Mining LUN Copper, gold $2,511 $251 $749 $2,236 $279 $617 9 10 Yamana Gold YRI Gold $2,139 $299 $692 $2,330 ($386) $524 10 12 Cameco CCO Uranium $1,863 $74 $527 $2,092 $166 $668 11 19 Kirkland Lake Gold KL Gold $1,831 $743 $1,220 $1,187 $355 $711 12 16 Centerra Gold CG Gold $1,825 ($124) $443 $1,463 $139 $282 13 18 Pan American Silver PAAS Silver $1,792 $148 $374 $1,016 $16 $201 14 13 HudBay Minerals HBM Copper $1,642 ($456) $412 $1,908 $111 $621 15 15 Turquoise Hill TRQ Copper, gold $1,547 ($633) ($15) $1,529 $511 $233 16 14 B2Gold BTO Gold $1,533 $419 $653 $1,362 $58 $584 17 17 IAMGold IMG Gold $1,414 ($528) $482 $1,440 ($26) $248 18 20 Wheaton Precious Mtls WPM Gold, silver $1,143 $114 $666 $1,029 $553 $619 19 23 Franco-Nevada FNV Gold $1,120 $457 $820 $846 $180 $615 20 21 Detour Gold DGC Gold $1,116 $1,005 ($1) $334 21 24 Alamos Gold AGI Gold $906 $128 $346 $845 ($94) $277 22 25 China Gold Int’l CGG Gold $872 ($43) $210 $739 ($5) $201 23 28 Torex Gold TXG Gold $850 $94 $400 $574 $30 $294 24 - New Gold NGD Gold $837 ($98) $350 $783 ($1,607) $318 25 26 Eldorado Gold ELD Gold $820 $98 $220 $595 ($492) $88 26 29 SSR Mining SSRM Gold, silver $805 $74 $178 $545 ($0) $77 27 - Champion Iron CIA Iron $792 $131 $263 $473 $90 $96 28 32 Leagold Mining LMC Gold $686 $488 $20 $62 29 27 Pretium Resources PVG Gold $643 $54 $292 $589 $47 $256 30 38 Semafo SMF Gold $631 $81 $288 $384 ($9) $140 31 34 Dundee Precious Mtls DPM Gold $556 ($96) $132 $489 $48 $127 32 30 Capstone Mining CS Copper $556 ($21) $123 $539 ($31) $170 33 31 Trevali Mining TV Zinc, lead $512 ($47) $149 $602 ($299) $154 34 37 First Majestic Silver FR Silver $483 ($54) $186 $390 ($265) $43 35 35 Teranga Gold TGZ Gold $469 ($40) $132 $405 $17 $119 36 41 Gran Colombia Gold GCM Gold $433 ($174) $137 $348 ($4) $103 37 33 Osisko Gold Royalties OR Gold $393 ($234) $92 $490 ($106) $82 38 - Ero Copper ERO Copper $378 $123 $170 $302 ($4) $107 39 - Equinox Gold EQX Gold $374 ($27) $79 $39 ($87) ($30) 40 - Argonaut Gold AR Gold $357 ($124) $99 $254 ($10) $41

22 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com Runners-up C$ millions

2019 2018

Rank Rank Net Operating Net Operating 2019 2018 Company Ticker Primary output Revenue income cash flow Revenue income cash flow

41 45 Golden Star GSC Gold $351 ($89) $30 $354 ($23) ($10) 42 43 Fortuna Silver FVI Silver $341 $32 $84 $341 $44 $108 43 42 Taseko TKO Copper $329 ($53) $43 $344 ($36) $94 44 44 Sierra Metals SMT Copper, zinc $304 $12 $53 $301 $33 $80 45 45 Copper Mountain CMMC Copper $288 ($26) $51 $296 ($27) $51

Oilsands

C$ millions 3 Rank 2019 2018 The number of 2018 Company Ticker Primary output Revenue Revenue royalty & streaming 3 Suncor Energy SU Oilsands $13,948 $12,039 companies in the 4 Canadian Natural Resources CNQ Oilsands $11,340 $11,521 TOP 40

continued from page 21 performance before the impacts of major non-cash items. We have chosen to analyze two ratios to assess financial performance – net income to revenue (known as westpromachinery.com the net profit margin), as well as cash flow from operations to revenues (operating cash flow to sales ratio), as shown in Tables X and Y. Looking at net profit margins, last year, DESIGN - BUILD - INSTALL - COMMISSION Barrick was the standout in our ranking, reporting 47% of its revenues into net income. Newmont, Barrick’s closest production peer, reported a net profit margin Heavy Duty of 28.8%. Low Maintenance We took a deeper look into the companies’ income statements for the year to gain Efficient Operation some more insight on this difference in margins and noticed that substantial non- cash items increased the reported net Conventional Cell incomes for both companies. For Barrick, Tank Cell these include a US$1.9-billion gain from a remeasurement of the value of the Flash Flotation Turquoise Ridge mine, part of the Nevada Gold Mines partnership with Newmont, following its contribution to the JV. A US$1.4-billion impairment reversal fur- CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 23 Newmont: U.S.-based miner enters Canada CANADA’S TOP 40 Given that this year is Newmont’s first appearance on our Top 40 list, we’ve decided to include an overview of the company Largest revenue gains year-over-year alongside a brief comparison with Barrick, its closest peer in the major gold mining space. C$ millions Newmont was founded in 1921 and has 2019 2018 Revenue evolved into one of the world’s largest mineral Rank Company Revenue Revenue change companies with a market capitalization 39 Equinox Gold $374 $39 856.5% estimated at $65.5 billion and operations 13 Pan American Silver $1,792 $1,016 76.3% across the Americas, Australia and Africa. 27 Champion Iron $792 $473 67.4% Over the next decade, Newmont expects to 30 Semafo $631 $384 64.2% produce 6 million oz. to 7 million oz. of gold 11 Kirkland Lake Gold $1,831 $1,187 54.3% annually with an additional 1.2 million oz. to 23 Torex Gold $850 $574 48.2% 1.4 million oz. of gold-equivalent output 26 SSR Mining $805 $545 47.7% anticipated each year. The company’s gold 28 Leagold Mining $686 $488 40.7% reserve base totals 96 million oz. 40 Argonaut Gold $357 $254 40.4% The miner holds eight assets that it defines 25 Eldorado Gold $820 $595 37.8% as “world-class,” based on annual output of 2 Newmont $12,924 $9,398 37.5% 3 Barrick Gold $12,893 $9,385 37.4% over 500,000 gold-equivalent oz. at all-in 19 Franco-Nevada $1,120 $846 32.3% sustaining costs of under US$900 per oz., a 38 Ero Copper $378 $302 25.1% 12 Centerra Gold $1,825 $1,463 24.7% 36 Gran Colombia Gold $433 $348 24.5% continued from page 23 34 First Majestic Silver $483 $390 23.9% 22 China Gold International $872 $739 18.0% ther increased the company’s net income 7 Agnico Eagle Mines $3,310 $2,839 16.6% for the year. Newmont also recorded a 35 Teranga Gold $469 $405 15.8% US$2.4-billion gain on the formation of 31 Dundee Precious Metals $556 $489 13.8% the Nevada Gold Mines JV. 16 B2Gold $1,533 $1,362 12.6% We therefore expect that Barrick’s rel- ative margin outperformance was, in part, 8 Lundin Mining $2,511 $2,236 12.3% driven by larger one-time items than 6 Kinross Gold $4,641 $4,163 11.5% those recorded by Newmont. Overall, we 18 Wheaton Precious Metals $1,143 $1,029 11.1% believe that the 2020 financial statements, 20 Detour Gold $1,116 $1,005 11.0% reflecting the first full year of operations 29 Pretium Resources $643 $589 9.2% of the Nevada JV, will provide a more 21 Alamos Gold $906 $845 7.3% accurate representation of the two com- 24 New Gold $837 $783 6.8% panies’ financial performance. In the 5 First Quantum Minerals $5,397 $5,139 5.0% meantime, we have compiled a brief over- 1 Nutrien $26,569 $25,442 4.4% view and comparison of the two compa- 32 Capstone Mining $556 $539 3.1% nies (See Page 25). 15 Turquoise Hill $1,547 $1,529 1.2% The next two closest runners up – 17 IAMGold $1,414 $1,440 -1.8% Franco-Nevada, a royalty and streaming company, as well as gold miner Kirkland 4 Teck Resources $11,934 $12,564 -5.0% Lake Gold both generated net profit mar- 9 Yamana Gold $2,139 $2,330 -8.2% gins of just over 40%. Ero Copper, which 10 Cameco $1,863 $2,092 -10.9% generates the majority of its production 14 HudBay Minerals $1,642 $1,908 -13.9% from the MCSA copper mining complex 33 Trevali Mining $512 $602 -14.8% in Brazil’s Bahia State, translated 33% of 37 Osisko Gold Royalties $393 $490 -20.0% revenues into net income. Newmont and B2Gold reported net profit margins of CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

24 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com Canadian-born Barrick focuses on Nevada, Africa

Barrick Gold, one of Canada’s best-known Barrick’s Tier One mines include operations mine life of over 10 years and location in a mining companies was founded in 1983. within the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, top-tier mining jurisdiction (based on credit Today, the company has a market capitalization where it holds a 61.5% stake, the 80%-owned agency ratings). Operating mines in this of approximately $58.5 billion and holds Loulo-Gounkoto complex in western Mali and category include assets within the Nevada copper and gold assets in the Americas, Africa, the Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of Gold Mines joint venture, where it holds a Papua New Guinea and Saudi Arabia. the Congo, in which it has a 45% interest. 38.5% interest, the Penasquito open pit in The company released its 10-year plan in After closing the US$18-billion Randgold Mexico as well as a 40% interest in the March: it aims to produce approximately 5 acquisition in January 2019, the company Pueblo Viejo joint venture in the Dominican million oz. of gold a year between 2020 and added the Loulo-Gounkoto and Morila mines in Republic (Barrick holds the 60% stake). 2029. Roughly half of this is expected to Mali to its portfolio, the Tongon open pit in After closing the US$10-billion acquisition come from the company’s North American Côte d’Ivoire as well as Kibali. of Goldcorp in April of last year, Newmont assets, about 1.5 million oz. of gold a year Just as Newmont enters the Canadian mining now holds three operating units in Canada. from mines in Africa, and the remaining 1 realm, Barrick appears to be gradually These include the Éléonore mine in northern million oz. from its Latin American and Asia- decreasing its share of revenues from the Quebec, the Musselwhite operation in Ontario Pacific assets. country. In November, the miner announced that as well as the Porcupine complex in Timmins, Similar to Newmont, the company’s it was looking to modernize and upgrade its where ores from a mining operation in the business model is built around the concept of a open-pit and underground Hemlo operation in city and from the Borden underground mine, “Tier One” gold asset, with annual production northern Ontario into a Tier 2 asset. To do so, it which is 160 km away and achieved of at least 500,000 oz. at life-of-mine total would be looking to transition to a smaller, more commercial production in October, are cash costs in the lower half of the industry’s profitable underground-only operation and processed at the Dome facility. cost curve and a mine life of over 10 years. switch to contract mining. TrunnionAd.qxp_Layout 1 7/16/20 3:13 PM Page 1 Mill Ore, Not Chips Remove Steel Ball Chips with Eriez Trunnion Magnet

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Eriez.com | 814.835.6000 CANADA’S TOP40 22 of the TOP 40 Operating Cash Flow reported a profit 2019, C$ millions in 2019 Operating OpCF/ Rank Company Revenue cash flow Revenue Net Income 18 Franco-Nevada $1,120 $820 73.2% 11 Kirkland Lake Gold $1,831 $1,220 66.6% 2019, C$ millions 17 Wheaton Precious Metals $1,143 $666 58.2% Net NI/ Rank Company Revenue income Revenue 22 Torex Gold $850 $400 47.0% 29 Semafo $631 $288 45.7% 3 Barrick Gold $12,893 $6,069 47.1% 28 Pretium Resources $643 $292 45.4% 19 Franco-Nevada $1,120 $457 40.8% 37 Ero Copper $378 $170 44.9% 11 Kirkland Lake Gold $1,831 $743 40.6% 15 B2Gold $1,533 $653 42.6% 38 Ero Copper $378 $123 32.5% 23 New Gold $837 $350 41.8% 2 Newmont $12,924 $3,722 28.8% 33 First Majestic Silver $483 $186 38.5% 16 B2Gold $1,533 $419 27.3% 20 Alamos Gold $906 $346 38.1% 6 Kinross Gold $4,641 $952 20.5% 7 Agnico Eagle Mines $3,310 $1,170 35.3% 7 Agnico Eagle Mines $3,310 $628 19.0% 6 Kinross Gold $4,641 $1,625 35.0% 27 Champion Iron $792 $131 16.5% 16 IAMGold $1,414 $482 34.1% 21 Alamos Gold $906 $128 14.1% 19 Detour Gold $1,116 33.2%* 9 Yamana Gold $2,139 $299 14.0% 26 Champion Iron $792 $263 33.2% 30 Semafo $631 $81 12.8% 9 Yamana Gold $2,139 $692 32.4% 25 Eldorado Gold $820 $98 11.9% 35 Gran Colombia Gold $433 $137 31.6% 23 Torex Gold $850 $94 11.1% 8 Lundin Mining $2,511 $749 29.8% 18 Wheaton Precious Metals $1,143 $114 10.0% 2 Newmont $12,924 $3,803 29.4% 8 Lundin Mining $2,511 $251 10.0% 4 Teck Resources $11,934 $3,484 29.2% 26 SSR Mining $805 $74 9.2% 3 Barrick Gold $12,893 $3,759 29.2% 29 Pretium Resources $643 $54 8.4% 32 Trevali Mining $512 $149 29.0% 13 Pan American Silver $1,792 $148 8.2% 10 Cameco $1,863 $527 28.3% 1 Nutrien $26,569 $1,316 5.0% 34 Teranga Gold $469 $132 28.2% 28 Leagold Mining $686 4.1%* 39 Argonaut Gold $357 $99 27.8% 10 Cameco $1,863 $74 4.0% 24 Eldorado Gold $820 $220 26.8% 4 Teck Resources $11,934 $356 3.0% 14 HudBay Minerals $1,642 $412 25.1% 12 Centerra Gold $1,825 $443 24.3% *Ratio estimated from 2018 numbers 21 China Gold International $872 $210 24.1%

30 Dundee Precious Metals $556 $132 23.7% At Golden Star Resources’ Wassa gold mine in Ghana. CREDIT:GOLDEN STAR RESOURCES 36 Osisko Gold Royalties $393 $92 23.3% 31 Capstone Mining $556 $123 22.2% 25 SSR Mining $805 $178 22.1% 5 First Quantum Minerals $5,397 $1,180 21.9% 38 Equinox Gold $374 $79 21.2% 13 Pan American Silver $1,792 $374 20.9% 1 Nutrien $26,569 $4,863 18.3% 27 Leagold Mining $686 12.6%*

*Ratio estimated from 2018 numbers

26 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com continued from page 24

29% and 27%, respectively. Mining’s $1-billion purchase of Semafo With respect to operating cash flow to % as well as the merger between SSR sales, royalty and streaming companies Mining and Alacer Gold. top our list, with Franco-Nevada and While revenues matter, they are not Wheaton Precious Metals coming in first 47 the only metric that investors look at and third, with ratios of 73% and 58%. Barrick’s net when analyzing companies. As some of Under the cash flow metric, Kirkland our numbers show, intermediate miners Lake Gold again emerges as a strong per- profit margin can generate strong returns, both in terms former, coming in second with an operat- in 2019 of income as well as cash flow. However, ing cash flow to sales ratio of 67%. Torex while true pre-production developers are Gold, which operates the El Limon traditionally single-asset companies, most Guajes complex in Mexico, is fourth, of the top performing producers are not. reporting 47% of revenues into cash flow concentration of revenue amongst some From the recent deals, we gather that a from operations. Moving down the list, of the largest players, in 2020 thus far, diverse group of robust producing assets is Semafo, Pretium and Ero Copper all gen- several M&A deals among some of the expected to diversify technical and geopo- erated operating cash flow to sales ratios smaller miners have either closed or been litical risk and bring operational and of approximately 45%. announced. financial synergies. However, both mean- These include Kirkland Lake Gold’s ingful revenues and strong ratio-based Watching industry moves and $4.9-billion acquisition of Detour Gold, performance are important for mining impacts in 2020 which closed at the end of January. Also companies looking to create long-term We close out this roundup watching pre- in January, Equinox Gold closed on a shareholder value. cious metals prices take off as investors $770-million acquisition of Leagold. We wrap up this year’s Top 40 watch- brace for the long-term financial impacts Other deals announced this year include ing the ongoing M&A and looking to see of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the the merger of Argonaut Gold and Alio how transactions within the sector move major theme of last year’s numbers is a Gold, West Africa-focused Endeavour our ranking and impact profits. CMJ

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AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 27 28 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com CANADA’S TOP40

Equinox Gold is created through the merger of Dec 2017 Trek Mining, NewCastle Gold and Anfield Mining

Equinox becomes a producer with the US$158M acquisition Oct 2018 of the Mesquite mine

The Aurizona mine in Jul 2019 Brazil achieves commercial production

Construction begins at the Castle mine in California Oct 2019

Equinox closes Equinox set to acquisition of Mar 2020 Leagold

Equinox is added climb the ranks to the GDXJ and Mar & Apr New entry to Top 40 GDX ETFs 2020 Equinox’s market Jul 2020 cap reaches eyes 1M oz gold $3.4B

By Alisha Hiyate

ebuting on our Top 40 list this year at No. 39, Top 40 list, in March. With that acquisi- Equinox Gold has grown at an incredible pace tion, Equinox now has six assets in pro- since its inception in 2017. With three acqui- duction, a seventh coming onstream in Dsitions completed over the course of three years, the the third quarter, and additional project company has gone from zero production to expected pro- expansions planned that have the com- duction of more than half a million ounces gold in 2020. pany eyeing 1 million oz. of annual gold In addition to appearing in the Top 40 for the first production in the near term. time this year, Equinox has also claimed the No. 1 spot Christian Milau in our top revenue gainers chart (see page 24), with an Focus on growth increase of more than 850% between 2018 and 2019 as From the company’s beginnings in 2017, when it was created it brought its second mine online. through a three-way merger of juniors Trek Mining, NewCastle While that is impressive enough, the company is set Gold and Anfield Gold, it was focused on growth, says CEO to climb higher in next year’s Top 40. It completed the Christian Milau. acquisition of Leagold, which ranks No. 28 in this year’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

Equinox Gold’s Aurizona mine in Maranhao state, Brazil. Commercial production at the open pit operation began last summer. CREDIT: EQUINOX GOLD

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 29 CANADA’S TOP40

Miners at Equinox Gold’s Los Filos mine in Guerrero state, Mexico. “We wanted to create an Americas-focused mid-tier gold CREDIT: EQUINOX GOLD producer and to do it at a time when the gold price was relatively low,” says Milau, the former CEO of True Gold, which was acquired by Endeavour Mining in 2016 for its Karma mine in Burkina Faso. With the backing of mining entrepreneur Ross Beaty, both financially (he currently owns 8% of the company) and as chairman, Equinox was able to make investments in gold, between 2016 and 2018, when the yellow metal was out of favour and under US$1,200 an oz. The company began construction at its past-producing Aurizona project in Brazil in late 2017, and in 2018, bought its first producing asset for $158 million from New Gold – the Mesquite mine in California. During 2019, Equinox brought Aurizona into production, and began construction on a third mine – Castle Mountain in ACC A A AS California, slated to begin production in the third quarter. C The merger with Leagold – a no-premium deal announced in December – has given it four more mines: Los Filos in Mexico, and Fazenda, RDM and Pilar in Brazil.

A The all-share deal, which has given Leagold shareholders C . 45% of the merged company, has been transformative, providing scale and liquidity that now qualify the company for inclu-

Exceptional stability in dusty environments Improved commercial sion in the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) and Junior Stainless steel construction for long term reliability in corrosive certainty & port efficiency environments Gold Miners (GDXJ) ETFs. Above stringer design facilitates installation on all conveyors In a sense, the merger gave the market what it wanted, Milau says. “The big fund managers in New York have been screaming for some no-premium mergers – create some efficiencies by cutting Leading the way in precision conveyor belt scales out corporate costs, and creating larger, more liquid companies so investors can invest in them – including the generalists.” [email protected] www.tdmicronic.com Closing a merger of this scale isn’t easy. But Milau notes that the deal made sense geographically and culturally, with mem-

30 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com Left: A member of the team at the Aurizona mine in Maranhao state, Brazil, with children from the local community. CREDIT: EQUINOX GOLD

done, with much of the Leagold team on the operations side of the business and the Equinox team on the corporate side, the combined company can focus on its two major expansion projects – Los Filos and Santa Luz. The company is getting the teams in place to execute on both projects and working on updating capital cost estimates, with official construction decisions bers of both the Leagold and Equinox expected soon. Both projects are expected to add production teams having helped build West beginning in early 2022. Africa-focused gold miner Endeavour Leagold began the expansion of the Los Filos mine in Mining, including Leagold CEO Neil Mexico last year, with additional open pit and underground Woodyer, who was the founding CEO development projected to increase production from 180,000 of Endeavour. oz. gold per year to 350,000 oz. Post-merger, Equinox is now “There were some of those old evaluating building a larger CIL (carbon-in-leach) plant than Endeavour team members building both the planned 4,000 t/d plant, which would increase capital costs Equinox and Leagold in a similar manner – from the current estimate of $115 million. focused on the Americas, similar-scale The second project, the past-producing Santa Luz mine in assets, similar approach and philosophy,” Milau says. “We were Brazil, could add another 100,000 oz. gold a year of production doing it in parallel and in a way, competing against each other, over 11 years at an AISC of US$856 per oz. if it gets the green so I said to Neil, ‘Why don’t we do this together?’” CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 At the time of the announcement last December, the combined market capitalization of the two companies was $1.3 billion. At presstime in mid-July, Equinox’s market cap had grown to $3.7 billion. “The market really embraced (the merger) because you put together a very logical deal in similar companies, you were able to mesh management teams, refinance the balance sheet and you come out of it as a multi-million dollar company,” Milau says. In addition, the growth focus of the company at a time when many other gold companies had stagnant or shrinking reserves and production, got investors’ attention. “We almost became a new name in the space and a very undervalued, interesting story for people to be looking at,” Milau notes. At the end of March, the company released production guidance for 2020 of 540,000 oz. to 600,000 oz. gold at all-in sustaining costs of US$1,000-1,060 per oz. (The numbers, which will be updated to take into account any effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, don’t include Leagold production before the merger closed on March 10.)

Managing growth Milau says the key to managing such rapid growth over a short time has been people. “Once you have the right people – and there are a number of people here who helped build Endeavour Mining from scratch or built New Gold from scratch or other companies – they kind of know how to go from a standing start to a multi-asset company, and in a sense have taken a risk by stepping down to a smaller company, rolling up their sleeves and saying, ‘let’s do it again.’” Now that the post-merger integration of Equinox is mostly

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 31 CANADA’S TOP40

Top: The Mesquite mine, in California. Middle: Core samples at the Aurizona open pit mine in Maranhao state, in northeastern Brazil. Bottom: The mill at Aurizona. CREDIT: EQUINOX GOLD light. The project’s capex, according to an October 2018 feasibility study completed by Leagold, is US$82 million. In addition, the first gold pour at the 45,000-oz.-per-year Castle Mountain mine in California is slated for the third quarter. The company is already working on a feasibility study to bring production up to 200,000 oz. annually. It’s also considering an expansion of its Aurizona open-pit mine in Brazil, which is expected to produce an average of 130,000 oz. gold per year over its initial seven-year mine life. A preliminary economic assessment released in May shows underground development could add a total of 740,500 oz. gold over 10 years. Add up all of that potential growth, and the company could be looking at over 1 million oz. of gold production annually. In addition to growth, the company is turning its attention to sustainability-related goals this year, aiming to have more ESG (environmental social and governance) disclosure and metrics on its website.

You, your project, and the nancier are on different continents... We’re your common ground.

Our global experience gives you expert, integrated solutions at every phase of your mining project. Noting that Beaty is an environmen- talist at heart, and that the management has significant ownership in the company, Milau says: “As owners of the company, we care about what people think of us and we want to have a positive impact.” Equinox will also be looking into reducing the environmental footprint at its sites through the potential use of renewable energy, as well as dry stack or filtered tailings technology.

srk.com COVID crisis The COVID-19 virus has presented challenges to all miners. But even though Equinox’s assets are all located in juris- dictions with a higher spread of the virus

32 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com SAFETY - First, Last and Always.

– Brazil, Mexico and the United States – the only major production interruption has been at Los Filos, in Guerrero state. Mining there was temporarily suspended in early April before restarting at the beginning of June. “(COVID-19) definitely is a contributing factor to the complexity of the business and interestingly, again, the old Endeavour Mining team lived through Ebola in West Africa, which had a lot of similarities to this,” Milau says. “It wasn’t global, but it was a very contagious virus that was affecting a lot of people locally and causing some of the same reactions where mine sites had to put in place very strong protocols on health and safety to try to protect the workforce and communities.” In addition to testing, isolation and distancing protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is working with local health authorities as the spread of the virus varies by region. Luckily, global supply chains have held up surprisingly well. Providing full service mining solutions While the virus has added uncertainty for miners, the com- and innovation around the pany has a strong financial position. Equinox drew the remain- world since 1962. ing US$180 million from its US$400-million revolving credit facility in late March (although it says it has no plans to use those funds) and had more than US$350 million in cash and equivalents in May. EXPERIENCE With so many acquisitions in its recent past, Equinox clearly • Shaft Sinking • Raise Mining has its hands full delivering on its organic growth potential. • Mine Development • Underground Construction However, Milau says the company is open to more aquisitions, • Contract Mining • Engineering & Technical Services if the asset is a good fit. “Partly, this company has been built through being opportu- • Raiseboring • Specialty Services nistic and I think particularly in this type of environment with COVID and the uncertainty in the world right now, we really believe that multi-assets platforms and businesses are stronger AFRICA | ASIA | AUSTRALIA and more liquid and better valued.” EUROPE | NORTH AMERICA With the gold price on the rise, and growth to 1 million oz. SOUTH AMERICA of production in sight, Milau hopes Equinox can fill some of the space left vacant by the diminished Canadian presence of Mining Contractors and Engineers gold miners like Goldcorp following recent acquisitions. “We’re excited to be a Canadian champion company and Consider it done – safely. redpathmining.com doing it right.” CMJ

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 33 DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

PURE GOLD POISED FOR PRODUCTION Plus a look at five other advanced gold projects

By Alisha Hiyate

ure Gold Mining is set to pour first behind it, Pure Gold had to do it while gold at its PureGold Red Lake markets were less favourable to gold. The mine before the end of the year, junior made the decision to move the Pand the timing couldn’t be better. project to production two years ago, even The past-producing mine – formerly though management knew the potential known as the Madsen mine – will be to expand the project through exploration coming online at a time when the gold was enormous. price is rallying, few other projects are “There wasn’t a lot of love for the actually being built, and in a jurisdiction industry at the time,” says president and Left: Test mining at Pure Gold’s underground gold that’s been pretty much untouched by CEO Darin Lebrenz. “And you can only mine in Red Lake, Ont. Above: Pure Gold has the global COVID-19 pandemic – Red go back to the market so many times launched a 30,000-metre drilling program at the Lake, Ont. before you dilute yourself out of any kind same time as it prepares to enter production later While much of the heavy lifting is of value. We saw a non-dilutive path to this year. CREDIT: PURE GOLD MINING

34 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com The mill at the past-producing PureGold Red Lake project is being expanded to 800 t/d from 550 t/d. CREDIT: PURE GOLD MINING

generate cash flow to self-fund our growth.” In a different market, the company would have had the option to continue exploration and then “right-size” the mine based on the results, Labrenz notes. “Today, we’re starting to see exploration stories get attention and see real value increase through exploration. We delivered over the past four years, arguably some of the best drill results and discoveries in Canada and really haven’t seen a lot of appreciation over that period because of the market we were in.” This year, however, the company’s stock price has taken off – starting the year at around 80¢ per share and more than dou- bling that to over $2 per share at presstime.

Phased development The PureGold mine is expected to produce an average of 80,000 oz. gold annually over a mine life of 12 years at all-in sustaining costs of US$787 per oz. A feasibility study released in early 2019, and using a gold price of US$1,275 per oz., projected an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $247 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 36%, with after-tax cumulative cash flows pegged at $383 million. At US$1,500 per oz. gold (the price is over US$1,850 per oz. at press time), the project’s IRR rises to 51%, its NPV to $390 million and free cash flow generated to $583 million. CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 35 DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

As it is, with a diluted head grade of 9 g/t gold, the mine will be the fifth highest grade in Canada, and 17th in the world, Labrenz notes. But Pure Gold sees the current development as just the first phase of a larger project. And now that the market is friendlier to gold miners and explorers, the company’s in the unique position of being able to focus on starting up the mine, while at the same time conducting an aggressive exploration program in preparation for the next phase of growth. In June, the company launched a 30,000-metre drill program at the project, Underground development at the PureGold mine. In early July, ramp development had reached 200 metres depth. aimed at upgrading resources to reserves, CREDIT: PURE GOLD MINING expanding surface discoveries on the 47-sq.-km property, and finding more outcrops at surface. The second hole test- most of Pure Gold’s contractor workforce high-grade zones similar to the 8-Zone – ing the gap between the 8-Zone and its being local, the company and construc- which boasts resource grades of 20.5 g/t updip continuation at Russett South cut tion project lead JDS Energy and Mining gold. 51 metres of 1 g/t gold, including 0.9 have not experienced any construction “Most companies don’t have the metre of 9.9 g/t gold in December. delays due to the virus. financial capacity to continue to look at Underground productivity has in fact the growth aspect of their project when Past producer been much better than expected. As of they’re in the midst of building out a As the Madsen mine, PureGold Red Lake June 19, the company had completed mine,” Labrenz says, noting that Eric produced 2.5 million oz. gold between 1,285 metres of underground develop- Sprott is a 12% shareholder. 1938 and 1976. Claude Resources ment, with an advance rate of 8 metres a The exploration program will build restarted the mine briefly in the late 1990s. day – 60% higher than the 5 metres a day on 20,000 metres drilled at the project Systematic exploration and a solid anticipated. last year, as well as a preliminary eco- understanding of the geology developed Labrenz puts the rapid pace down nomic assessment (PEA) released in early by Pure Gold over the past four years will to a combination of experienced work- 2019 that looked at adding production likely ensure that this time, the mine stays ers, good ground conditions and mod- from three near-surface satellite depos- in production much longer. ern technology, and says it bodes well for its: Wedge, Russet South and Fork. That As a brownfields site with an existing potentially bringing the 8-Zone forward study showed potential to add 3.7 years of mill, tailings facility and other infrastruc- in the mine plan. mine life and total production of 210,000 ture, a modest US$90-million financing “Basically we touch the 8-Zone at the oz. of gold. closed last August, was enough to cover end of year 4 (in the current mine plan) The opportunity to expand the 8-Zone the estimated $95-million project capex. and the first real production from it comes (which has an indicated resource of Pure Gold has completed a new water in year 5,” says Labrenz, noting the top 458,000 tonnes grading 20.5 g/t gold for treatment facility at the site, and is work- of the zone is at about 800 metres depth. 301,000 oz.) and find similar high-grade ing on a mill refurbishment and expansion “With some of the engineering work we’re zones is especially exciting. to 800 t/d from 550 t/d. That expansion doing onsite right now and the productiv- “The 8-Zone is in the same geologic will include a new ball mill and gravity ity improvements, we think we can reach environment as the Red Lake mine circuit that will allow the company to it as early as year 3 – so it’s a very material High-Grade Zone, which obviously was cheaply recover free gold in the ore and change from the feasibility mine plan.” the springboard to Goldcorp’s success,” reduce the use of reagents in recovery. With development progressing nicely, Labrenz says.“It sits in a mafic-ultramafic In addition, in the second year of pro- Pure Gold is poised to enjoy the spotlight contact, similar to the High-Grade Zone duction, the company plans to install a new both for its new producer status later this and that context stretches for 10 km along hoist for the existing 1,275-metre shaft year, and for its exploration results as it our property.” that will support a transition to an all-elec- expands the project’s scope. The 8-Zone is open down-plunge as tric underground fleet that will reduce ven- “We’re coming into the strongest well as towards surface, and Pure Gold has tilation costs as the company mines deeper. Canadian gold price we’ve ever seen, so established geologic continuity between it With Red Lake having experienced our timing couldn’t be better from that and the Russett South discovery, which only a handful of COVID-19 cases, and perspective,” Labrenz says.

36 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com Five more projects to watch

ith gold trading at US$1,850 per oz. at press time, VALENTINE we’ve compiled a list of a few other advanced gold projectsW we’re watching with near-term development potential.

CÔTÉ

At press time, 70-30 joint-venture partners Iamgold and Sumitomo Metal Mining had just announced a construction decision for the Côté gold project in northern Ontario, 20 km southwest of Gogama. JV partners Iamgold and Sumitomo Metal Mining are building the Marathon Gold’s Valentine project in Construction at the US$1.3- Côté gold project, in northern Ontario. Newfoundland. CREDIT: MARATHON GOLD billion open pit project will CREDIT: IAMGOLD begin in the third quarter, and Marathon Gold released a prefeasibil- continue for 32 months, with commercial production expected in the second half of 2023. ity study for its Valentine gold project, The project is expected to produce 367,000 oz. gold annually over a mine life of 18 about 80 km southwest of Buchans, years, with the mill processing 36,000 t/d. Nfld., in April. The study outlined an The economics of the low-grade project, with probable reserves totalling 233 million open pit operation with a mine life of tonnes grading 0.96 g/t gold for 7.3 million oz., will benefit from the current high gold 12 years that would produce an average price environment. At US$1,700 gold, the project’s NPV is US$2 billion, the IRR is of 175,000 oz. gold annually for its first 22.4% and the payback period 2.6 years. nine years. All-in sustaining costs were With project operator Iamgold looking into the use of autonomous trucks at Côté, projected at US$739 per oz. of gold. this would be the first such use at a mining operation in Canada outside of the oilsands. The initial capital cost of $272 million would build a 6,800 t/d mill, and an additional $42-million investment would fund an expansion in year 4 to 11,000 t/d. PREMIER At a gold price of US$1,350 per oz., the study estimates an after-tax NPV In April, Ascot Resources released a of $472 million (at a 5% discount rate) feasibility study for its Premier and and an IRR of 36%. Red Mountain projects in north- Marathon plans to submit an envi- west British Columbia’s Golden ronmental impact statement later this Triangle. year, with a feasibility study expected The study looks at restarting the in the first half of 2021, and a potential mill at Premier, a past-produc- production start in late 2023. ing site, located 25 km away from The existing mill at Ascot Resources’ past-producing Premier The Marathon and Leprechaun Stewart. Mill feed would come gold project, in B.C. deposits at Valentine contain proven from underground production at CREDIT: ASCOT RESOURCES and probable reserves of 41.1 million three deposits at Premier and one tonnes grading 1.41 g/t gold for a total at Red Mountain, 23 km southeast. of 1.9 million oz. gold. With an initial capital investment of $146.6 million, the 2,500 t/d project would produce an average of 132,375 oz. of gold and 370,500 oz. silver annually over a mine life of eight years. The study projected all-in-sustaining costs at US$769 per oz., an after-tax IRR of 51%, and an NPV of $341 million (at a 5% discount rate). Reserves at Premier total 3.6 million tonnes grading 5.45 g/t gold and 19.1 g/t silver CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 for 637,000 oz. of gold and 2.2 million oz. of silver. Red Mountain reserves stand at 2.5 million tonnes grading 6.52 g/t gold and 20.6 g/t silver, totalling 534,000 oz. gold and 1.7 million oz. silver.

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 37 DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

TEMA ISENMANN BACK RIVER has your solutions for Sabina Gold & Silver released screen and wear life in a feasibility study for its Back the Mining Industry! River project, in Nunavut, in 2015. The study outlined a INJECTION PIN & LEG PANELS MOLDED PANELS 200,000 oz. per year open pit and underground project with a 12-year mine life and an initial capex of $415 million. The project won the approval of the Nunavut Impact Review Board in 2017, The Goose camp at Sabina Silver & Gold’s Back River gold project in TM TEEPEE PANELS WS 85 PANELS and Sabina recently received Nunavut. CREDIT: SABINA SILVER & GOLD the last major permits needed to operate the mine. Major permits for construction are already in place. In June, Sabina raised $55 million for exploration at the project. Boltdown & Tension Screens This year’s program at Back River, located 520 km northeast of Yellowknife, will consist of 8,500 metres of drilling targeting high-grade mineralization at the Umwelt BOLTDOWN & WS 2.10 MAGNETIC deposit, infill and expansion drilling at the Llama deposit, and the testing of several TENSION PANELS WEAR LINERS new targets. Back River contains proven and probable reserves (open pit and underground) of 2.5 million oz. gold (proven reserves total 7 million tonnes averaging 5.98 g/t gold and probable reserves total 5.4 million tonnes averaging 6.7 g/t gold).

Screening Solutions: • Modular Injection Molded 1'x1' Panels KIENA 30 to 50mm thick, fine apertures, plain, weirbars, retarder bars, self relieving In May, Wesdome Gold apertures, reduce plugging and Mines released a preliminary blinding, simple installation economic assessment for its • TeePee Injection Molded 1'x1' Panels past-producing Kiena mine High open area, optimized for near Val-d’Or, Que., that high-capacity de-watering projects an initial capex of $35 • Open Cast WS 85 Modular Panels million, a mine life of eight Adaptable to most astening systems years, and annual production 30 to100mm thick of 85,931 oz. gold. All-in sus- • Boltdown & Tension Panels taining costs were estimated at • Flexathon Non Blinding Panels US$512 per oz., with an after- Wesdome Gold Mines’ past-producing Kiena gold project, in Quebec. WS 2.10 Wear Liner Solutions: tax NPV of $416 million and CREDIT: WESDOME GOLD MINES • Quick-install & Change out an IRR of 102%. U.S. Patent No. • Apply to any steel surface 8,267,791 The company is now work- • NO: Bolts, Glue, Welding ing on a prefeasibility study for Kiena and looking to make a production decision early • Used in chutes & vibratory equipment next year. The project, which was put on care and maintenance in 2013, already contains a TEMA ISENMANN 2,000 t/d mill, and other infrastructure. Screening & Wear Solutions Indicated resources total 2.8 million tonnes averaging 8.51 g/t gold for 798,100 oz., with a resource update expected later this year. ( ) Call 859 252-0613 Exploration drilling this year will focus on up-plunge potential of the high-grade [email protected] CMJ temaisenmann.com Kiena Deep A Zone. ©2020 TEMA ISENMANN, INC. INC. TEMA ISENMANN, ©2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

38 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com ADVERTORIAL

IMPROVED PROTECTION PLATFORM CONNECTS SLOPE MONITORING TO MINE OPERATIONS

usy traffic, noise, poor visibility, It means mines can now receive Integration between IDS GeoRadar and the HxGN MineProtect portfolio means that mines can now receive and operator distraction and real-time equipment visualization with real-time equipment visualization with timely alerts about Bfatigue make mines potentially timely alerts about hazardous areas for hazardous areas for people and machinery. Workers and dangerous places to work. Add the people and machinery. Workers and equipment are protected from injury-threatening events by being forewarned of no-go zones. threat of slope failure and rock falls, equipment are protected from injury- and it’s easy to appreciate the very real threatening events by being forewarned obstacles mining companies face in of no-go-zones. previously siloed processes in one achieving zero harm. No-go zones are identified in IDS platform that will save lives.” Safety, sustainability and efficiency GeoRadar’s IBIS Guardian software, IDS GeoRadar President, Alberto can suffer at any mine where the data which creates geofenced zones and Bicci, said: “Guardian can now from planning, operations, safety and hazard maps, and is correlated with improve risk management being business analytics are siloed. Recent radar alarms. Guardian’s integration integrated with the HxGN MineProtect integration between Hexagon’s Mining with CAS 4.6 and complementary HxGN portfolio. Vehicles and machinery are division and Hexagon subsidiary, MineProtect solutions, Personal Alert visualized in real time on the 3D radar IDS GeoRadar now means that these and Tracking Radar, ensures that alarms displacement map and consequently important data sources can be shared in are automatically triggered when a traffic management, based on slope one platform. no-go zone is approached. hazards, can be further optimized Hexagon is a leader in sensor, “The additional layer of information through real-time monitoring data from software and autonomous solutions. created by this integration means better our complementary solutions, Hydra-X, Recognizing the risks miners face, the risk evaluation and is one more way IBIS-FM and IBIS-ArcSAR.” company now connects systems for to ensure everyone gets home safely,” safety and radar-based slope stability said Nick Hare, President of Hexagon’s hazards. The single platform is part of Mining division. “It’s also a great HxGN MineProtect Collision Avoidance example of our autonomous connected System (CAS) 4.6. ecosystems strategy – connecting GREEN ENERGY RENEWABLE energy IN MINING A practical application for active operations By Jocelyn Zuliani and Joel Guilbaud

Historically, mines have been powered using fossil fuels, a costly endeavour when you consider the high price of transportation and storage, not to mention the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted into the atmosphere — a very high cost to the natural environment. Recently, several mine operators have set ambitious targets the overall mine load, while short duration to significantly reduce emissions, with aspirations lithium-ion batteries are utilized to reduce of achieving net zero operations within the next the variability that stems from renewable 25 to 30 years. Their strategy: incorporate green generation. The batteries essentially act as technologies for power generation, as well as energy an operating reserve and will either generate or store electricity if there is a significant storage capabilities whenever and wherever possible. drop or increase in renewable generation, So, the question remains, how do we get there? that is until a diesel genset can be safely ramped up or down. This approach allows he mine of the future will need solar-enclosed technologies, and small for fewer gensets to remain online at any to generate nearly 100% of its modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). given time, reducing both fuel consump- energy requirements – for pow- One of the most appealing use cases to tion and operating costs. eringT the mine and supplying the vehi- date lies in a hybrid microgrid approach. Today, many mining operations are cle fleet – with emission-free energy. Several mines have started down this path, targeting medium renewable penetra- Currently, there are many technologies in integrating wind or solar photovoltaic tion, aiming for 40-60% of total elec- development to help us achieve mass elec- (PV) generation with short duration lith- tricity generated from renewable sources. trification in mining. This includes high ium-ion batteries. These configurations Continually reducing costs and improv- efficiency renewable generation, low-cost typically generate 10-25% of a mine’s ing performance of wind and solar PV, energy storage for both short duration total electricity needs. In these low pene- as well as innovations to support reliable and longer duration, high-density battery tration microgrids, the microgrid contin- operations in extreme climates have made and hydrogen powered vehicles, com- ues to be controlled by the diesel gensets these generation sources more attractive. bined heat and power generation from with renewables acting as a reduction to However, in order to achieve medium to

40 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com nologies adopted, with up to 50% of the total renewable generation available for heat demand and truck charging. Battery- powered trucks are expected to dominate the market for 100 tonnes of production or less. Heavy payload trucks of 300 tonnes and above will be hydrogen-powered and refilled with green hydrogen, mostly produced with excess power from the mine’s renewable generation output. In sunny locations, heat-intensive mining processes will use solar-enclosed technologies to produce both heat and power with a single generation technology. Lithium mines require large amount of process steam and will benefit the most from solar-enclosed heat and power technologies. This will consequently lead to a decarbonization of the entire lithium mining processes, further accelerating the uptake of lithium-based batteries for renewable integration and electric vehicles. And finally, SMRs are another highly anticipated technology pathway for remote mining. SMRs can be factory-produced and meet scaleable power demands, giv- ing the mine the flexibility to add modules based on current and future power demand. SMRs can produce megawatt-scale base- load power that can be complemented by other traditional renewable and storage technologies to meet the mine and fleet energy demand. In Canada alone, a dozen companies have pre-licencing engage- ments with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Once a successful demon- Integrated wind-storage diesel energy project at the Raglan mine in Nunavik, Quebec. stration is achieved, the mining sector is set CREDIT: COURTESY OF TUGLIQ/PHOTO BY JUSTIN BULOTA to be a primary target for commercializa- tion, due to its high reliance on expensive high renewable penetration, the dispatch diesel gensets will only be operated during diesel fuel in remote areas. of the diesel gensets must be modified. extended periods of low renewable gener- It’s no secret that off-grid mines are The renewable generator’s contribution ation. This will require both high- power faced with electricity generation chal- to the microgrid is significant and can no energy storage to smooth short-duration lenges, but with all of these technologies longer be treated as a simple reduction in intermittency and long-duration energy in the commercial development pipeline, load. Energy storage integration is a must, storage to support the supply of renewable we have an incredible opportunity to allowing all diesel gensets to be turned off generation, shifting it over several hours drastically curb climate change impacts in for several hours. During these short peri- of the day. Long-duration storage is key mining. The time is now! CMJ ods, the wind or solar PV generation is to enabling this operating mode and there high enough to cover the mine’s electric- are many technologies being developed to – Jocelyn Zuliani, PhD, is Hatch’s Energy Storage ity needs. When the gensets are off, the support this requirement, including flow Lead. Her work focuses on assessing energy storage energy storage will control the grid, main- batteries, zinc batteries, geothermal and technologies and partnering with companies to select the taining power quality and controlling the thermal storage, compressed gas storage, appropriate solutions to address their needs. variability of the renewable generation. and hydrogen storage. – Joel Guilbaud is Hatch’s Hybrid Power Lead. He has In the future, as more aggressive and As mines reach higher renewable pen- expertise in modelling and optimizing energy projects higher renewable penetration targets are etration, there will be excess power avail- such as hybrid power, wind, solar, thermal power, set, aiming for near 100% renewable able at virtually no cost. The amount of and energy storage. He holds a PhD in Energy and penetration, a significant shift in operat- excess renewable power available depends Economics from University College London on hybrid ing strategies is required. In this scenario, on both the mine’s location and the tech- renewable power systems for mining.

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 41 Data Chart

Y ACCELERATION Z ACCELERATION -94.92736816 -870.9379639

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Productive mines know technology drives their success. Companies must be smarter, safer, and quicker to respond to change. Their future depends on it.

We believe integration is the key to a safer, more productive mine where monitoring, design, ﬂeet management, collision avoidance, production optimization, and surveying connect in real time. Our customers are informed and empowered to make sense of their data for smarter, faster decisions.

We are a global network of experienced mining professionals, delivering technology, service, and support for the life of your mine.

42 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL hexagonmining.comwww.canadianminingjournal.com NEW MINING TECHNOLOGY

Simplifying sample processing New gold assay method offers faster turnaround

he enes o he By Carl A. Williams echnoog ince concentrations in mineral ores, the chemi- o increse in cal and physical properties of samples need etermining the grade of mineralization in an se sie, rece to be altered before analysis. For instance, orebody from initial exploration to resource se rerion depending on the expected level of gold, definition and estimation is essential for assess- the type of material, and the choice of ana- ing whether a deposit represents a potentially econom- reireens, lytical technique, ore samples are usually D oe n ically viable mine. It also provides valuable information crushed, powdered, fused, or digested in on which mineral extraction and processing methods to nonesrcive strong acids. employ to maximize the value of the finished product. nsis, ser A variety of analytical techniques, The chemical analysis of geological materials, includ- rnron ies, including inductively coupled plasma mass ing rocks, soils, and stream sediments, from within or n he eiinion spectrometry (ICP-MS), induced neutron around a suspected orebody allows mining and mineral activation analysis, and atomic absorption exploration companies to determine the concentrations o he se o oic spectrometry are then used to determine of saleable products in mineral ores. or csic cheic the concentration of gold in the sample. However, for gold prospecting and mining, the regens The most commonly used method for analysis of gold in mineral ores present unique chal- assaying gold is fire assay. However, the lenges. For example, gold is mined commercially at method is complicated and time-consum- low concentrations, is often irregularly distributed in ores, and ing, requires skilled technicians who work with molten mate- can be difficult to sample due to its malleability and resistance rials at temperatures of over 1,000° Celsius, involves the use of to pulverization. toxic reagents like lead, and destroys the samples being analyzed. In addition to the analytical challenges of determining gold CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

The Chrysos PhotonAssay technology is a fully penetrative assay technique that allows processing of coarse crushed material and rock chip samples. CREDIT: CHRYSOS

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 43 NEW MINING TECHNOLOGY

A Chrysos PhotonAssay unit in Perth, Australia. CREDIT: CHRYSOS

Furthermore, because it uses small amounts of materials, the ignre gr sign analysis of highly heterogeneous mineral ores using fire assay can The technique uses an electronic linear accelerator to generate be particularly challenging, and the results may not necessarily high-energy X-ray beams with energies up to 8.5 million elec- provide an accurate determination of the gold content. tron-volts (MeV) that irradiate the sample for around 15 seconds. The beams are sufficiently energetic to induce short-lived chenger o re ssing changes in the nuclei of any gold atoms present in the sample. A new technology called Chrysos PhotonAssay that uses As gold has only one naturally occurring isotope, 197Au, exci- high-energy X-rays to determine the gold content of mineral tation by the X-rays pushes the gold atoms into an excited, or ores could now challenge the pre-eminence of fire assay. isomeric state, which has a half-life of about 7.73 seconds. The technology, also called gamma activation analysis, was “When this isomeric state returns to the ground or unexcited invented in the 1960s, but its lack of sensitivity and accuracy state, the gold atoms emit gamma-rays with a characteristic energy limited its widespread application. Then, around 15 years of about 279 keV (thousand electron-volts),” says Tickner. ago, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research This signal, Tickner added, is unique to gold, “so, you don’t Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia significantly improved the have to contend with background signals from other elements method, leading to a technique that can rapidly and accurately like silicon, aluminium, oxygen, for example, which are usually determine the gold concentration of mineral ores. present in the rock at much higher levels and is a particular bug- Building on the work of CSIRO, an Australian-based com- bear for other techniques.” pany called Chrysos has commercialized the technology and is By detecting and then measuring this signature gamma-ray sig- delivering it to miners and laboratories across the world. nal, which is proportional to the amount of gold in the sample, the “I was part of a team at CSIRO that was focused on devel- gold concentration and grade of ore can be easily estimated. oping new instrument solutions for the minerals industry,” Furthermore, the energy of the incident X-rays and emitted says James Tickner, the company’s chief technology officer and gamma-rays is high enough to penetrate several centimetres of inventor of the trademarked Chrysos PhotonAssay technology. rock easily. Therefore, relatively large samples of around 400 to “There weren’t any real-time, online technologies that could 600 grams can be analyzed, providing a more accurate assess- measure gold quickly, accurately, or with sufficient sensitivity ment of the entire sample’s actual grade. that would be useful for industry.” “The technology is fully automated and provides a fast, accu- Fortunately, Tickner added, the technology that eventually rate, and reliable method for detecting gold and other met- became Chrysos PhotonAssay worked exceptionally well for gold als,” says Dirk Treasure, CEO of Chrysos. “Unlike fire assay, and could provide the industry with an alternative to fire assay. it’s a non-destructive technique and leaves the original sample

44 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com Chrysos engineers monitor the PhotonAssay process via an HMI (human machine interface), allowing for safe startup, operation and troubleshooting. CREDIT: CHRYSOS

intact, which allows for multiple analyses to be performed on requires fewer people and a lower technical skillset with less like- the same sample.” lihood for error.” The company has undertaken extensive factory and laboratory The simplified process, he added, provides a much faster sam- testing of more than 200 certified reference materials (CRMs) ple turnaround and higher throughput and also eliminates human prepared from a variety of naturally occurring ores, synthetic and environmental exposure to the waste lead created by fire assay. blended materials, gold-copper and polymetallic concentrates, “Extensive testing of the technology on real mineral ores and carbon pulps. provided by more than 20 companies produced results that In CRMs containing one part per million (ppm) gold, a were consistent and interchangeable with those from fire detection limit of 30 parts per billion (ppb) with a precision assay,” Treasure said. of about 3.5% was achieved for a prototype instrument, which The benefits of technology, he added, include a 10-fold increase increased to less than 1.5% for samples of around 10 ppm. in sample size, reduced sample preparation requirements, auto- Factory testing of a commercial unit led to an improvement in mated and non-destructive analysis, faster turnaround times, and the detection to 30 ppb. the elimination of the use of toxic or caustic chemical reagents. In addition to testing carried out by Chrysos, MSALABS, The International Organization for Standardization and a provider of geochemical laboratory services to the global Australia’s National Association of Testing Authorities have exploration and mining industry and headquartered in British certified the technology, and grade results for drill core sam- Columbia, has also conducted trials on the technology. ples have been used in Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code and “We used the technology for a mining client with two issues – National Instrument 43-101 compliant reports, Treasure noted. nuggety gold samples and rapidly increasing sample volumes,” “Currently, the technology can analyze around 50,000 sam- said Stuart Thomson, CEO of MSALABS. “It’s well known ples per month and is designed for use in either large, centralized that assaying for nuggety gold deposits is difficult, and there assay laboratories, or on-site laboratories at large gold mines,” are compromises with any method selected during both sample Tickner said. “A new unit is currently being designed that is tar- preparation and the final assay.” geted for smaller gold operations and is scheduled for delivery Thomson and his team conducted trials using both the in 2020.” Chrysos PhotonAssay and fire assay techniques. The technique, he added, is currently being extended to other “We found that the two techniques demonstrated a very elements and could be used for commercially relevant concentra- strong correlation in the results despite the sample grades span- tions of both silver and copper. CMJ ning multiple orders of magnitude,” Thomson noted. “However, the Chrysos PhotonAssay technology is a simpler process that – Carl A. Williams is a senior staff writer with The Northern Miner.

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Michelle Ash Paul Brink Clive Johnson Peter Marrone CEO President and CEO President, CEO and Executive Chairman GEOVIA - Dassault Franco-Nevada Corp. Director Yamana Gold Inc. Systèmes B2Gold Corp.

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#GMS2020 46 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com HEAVY EQUIPMENT

p48 BEVs gain ground

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 47 HEAVY EQUIPMENT BEVs GAIN GROUND

Cost-saving benefits extend beyond greenfield sites

By Kate Burns

n 2020, battery electric vehicles along with any new product. Originally Industry-OEM (BEVs) are nothing new for the min- BEVs were limited to smaller LHDs, collaboration along ing industry – Kirkland Lake Gold had but the industry required machines that with parallel technology Ialready recognized enough value in the could match the power and produc- developments in technology to implement it at its Macassa tivity of their diesel fleets, with higher battery compositions mine in Ontario in 2012, and Newmont’s capacity battery cells and longer drive and mine digitalization Borden Lake recently achieved commer- times. OEMs listened to that need and cial production with a battery-electric recently Sandvik-owned Artisan Vehicles have elevated BEVs to fleet. Attention towards BEV technology released a 50-tonne battery powered truck be a viable equipment has increased exponentially since these that matches and even exceeds the pro- option for many first movers in the BEV space emerged. ductivity of its diesel equivalents. This operations. Vale now targets to have 20 BEVs in industry-OEM collaboration along with operation by the end of 2020, Pretium parallel technology developments in bat- Resources is evaluating the potential for tery compositions and mine digitalization BEVs to improve costs, environmental have elevated BEVs to be a viable equip- health, and safety at the Brucejack mine ment option for many operations. in B.C., and Glencore plans for both As a new product, there was uncertainty Onaping Depth and Nickel Rim Deep around the maintenance costs of bat- in Sudbury, Ont., to be diesel-free under- tery-powered machines. However, BEVs ground projects. Engineering firms like are no longer just prototypes – there is a JDS Energy & Mining are now including growing fleet in production around the BEV fleet recommendations in feasibil- world that can be analyzed to provide real ity studies – JDS indicated battery-pow- insights on maintenance costs. Brian Huff, ered load and haul equipment should be VP of Technology at Artisan Vehicles says used where possible at the PureGold Red that considering the analyses Artisan has Lake mine to reduce ventilation require- done, “over the life of the machine (total ments – and countless other projects cost of ownership) is about 12% lower.” are making the same recommendation. He adds that “this is only the direct costs, There has been a learning curve to arrive it excludes things like parts holding costs, at this point where BEVs are so prevalent. fuel handling and disposal costs, venti- The mining industry and OEMs collab- lation reduction, and any tax credits for orated to develop products that deliver GHG emissions.” One reason leading to the functionality and productivity that the reduction in direct maintenance costs is required by the industry, and collabo- is that due to the static nature of the elec- rated to answer the questions that come tric drive, there are fewer moving parts

48 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com Above and page 47: An Artisan Z50 conducting a battery self-swap. The 50-tonne haul truck is emissions-free. CREDIT: SANDVIK requiring repair and maintenance in BEVs The LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate The industry is versus a diesel counterpart. or LFP) chemistry is the safest when it An indirect cost-benefit of BEVs comes to an underground environment undergoing a comes in their energy efficiency – with where rough walls and roads, acidic water, technology revolution battery power, a greater percentage of high temperatures and differing operator and a number of these energy purchased is converted to power, techniques can lead to hazards for batter- new technologies have whereas the energy potential of diesel is ies. While other chemistries offer solu- also supported the BEV greatly reduced once idling time, trans- tions for less hostile, more predictable revolution. mission losses, and other factors associ- environments (such as surface construc- ated with an internal combustion engine tion equipment), LFP stands out as one are considered. Ultimately, the cost per CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 kWh of power is less for a battery engine than a diesel engine. Aside from the uncertainty about oper- HYDRAULIC CYLINDER ating costs of battery-powered machines, mines were initially apprehensive about MINING SOLUTIONS purchasing batteries as a capital expense RAM has 45 years experience in custom designed hydraulic cylinders. RAM delivers hydraulic cylinders for because diesel is an operating cost. As a the mining industry that meet exact equipment fit and result, OEMs are now considering service performance specifications. Our expertise includes: and maintenance options like a battery- 3D Modeling Position Sensor Technologies as-a-service offering, which would allow Prototyping Specialty Materials mines to continue allocating fuel (now Reverse Engineering Integrated Valves Testing to SAE Standards Custom Paint & Packaging batteries instead of diesel) to their operat- Technical Support Mixed Delivery Sizes ing costs in the form of a monthly battery Contact the RAM team of experts today! service and usage charge. Finally, the safety of batteries in an RAM Industries Inc underground environment is a common T: 1.877.799.1005 | [email protected] concern, specifically with respect to fires. www.ramindustries.com

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 49 HEAVY EQUIPMENT

OEMs are now of the most forgiving chemistries considering service and for use in the often-unpredictable maintenance options world of underground mining. The like a battery-as-a- LFP chemistry will withstand haz- service offering, which ards like overcharge, mechanical shock and vibration, external and would allow mines to internal short-circuits, crushing and continue allocating penetration without resulting in an fuel (now batteries uncontrollable fire event. Sandvik instead of diesel) to uses LFP chemistry in its custom Kirkland Lake Gold’s Macassa mine in Ontario. their operating costs in designed and built Artisan batteries and CREDIT: KIRKLAND LAKE GOLD the form of a monthly has accumulated over 400,000 hours of operation in tough underground environ- ered. This is a significant development for battery service and ments without a single thermal event. deep mining projects where ventilation usage charge. costs can be so extreme as to limit the eco- Battery conversion nomic viability of the project. As the BEV offering is becoming more The industry is undergoing a technol- aligned with the industry’s requirements, ogy revolution and a number of these new mine operators and engineers are also technologies have also supported the BEV increasingly understanding that the oper- revolution. Underground personnel and ational and economic benefits can be vehicle tracking devices, like Newtrax’s realized without significantly modifying personnel and equipment monitoring sys- existing mine infrastructure. Previously, tem, enable mines to implement systems BEVs were thought to primarily benefit like ventilation on demand, putting addi- new mines because those projects could tional focus on the potential for ventilation optimize ventilation systems from the savings. And fully autonomous machines outset of mine design. However, evidence will also modify the way mine planners is increasingly mounting that BEV ben- consider ventilation requirements. efits can be realized in many situations Diesel powered loading and hauling is other than just greenfields projects and so embedded into the industry’s under- the economic potential of these options standing of the haul cycle that it is a chal- We’ve got it are being explored and proven by engi- lenge to consider the productivity and neering and consulting firms. efficiencies gained by removing refuelling in the bag! For example, SRK Consulting con- stops and diesel costs. “We are adding ducted a BEV study comparing ventila- these more frequent but quicker delays for tion requirements for an all-diesel fleet battery swapping but removing the longer BULK versus battery powered haul trucks and delays that we don’t even question anymore BAGS LHDs. The study demonstrated that because they are built into our understand- TOTE without modifying the mine’s existing ing of the diesel haul cycle,” says Artisan’s BAGS infrastructure, ventilation demand could Brian Huff. “What we have found is that SUPER be reduced by 50% and total fan power with such a short battery swap time, of six SACKS reduced by 80% just by adopting BEV minutes, and faster haulage speeds, there is trucks and loaders and retaining diesel for actually an increase in production.” the remainder of the mobile fleet. With an array of battery-powered prod- The benefits of battery conversion will ucts available that are suited to the indus- If we don’t only potentially increase as battery usage try’s needs, and mounting data to support have it, is adopted in applications outside of just the business case for BEVs in mines, the we’ll custom loading and hauling. Battery power was last step in the industry’s adoption of this make it first only considered practical for smaller new technology will be a shift in the way for you! LHDs, however there are now battery operators think about the fuel and refuel- powered options for LHDs, haul trucks, ling aspects of the mining cycle, and that development drills, production drills, rock shift is already well underway. CMJ support drills, and utility vehicles, essen- [email protected] • www.bagsupplies.ca tially meaning the entire underground Kate Burns is the marketing, intelligence, and strategy Tel: 1 519 271 2040 Fax: 1 519 271 2027 mining process can now be battery pow- manager for Sandvik Canada.

50 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL www.canadianminingjournal.com 2020 | 1 | 7 Executive, Management and Board Changes in Canada’s Mining Sector

Ewan Shawn Patrick Downie Hood Anderson

Ewan Downie Shawn Hood Patrick has joined the is now the chief Anderson has board of Clean Air technology officer been appointed Metals. Downie (CTO) of GoldSpot chairman of has served as the Discoveries, Strongbow president and CEO a company Exploration’s » 66 Resources has named to the board with Mike of using artificial board. Anderson Premier Gold R. Timothy Henneberry Koziol, David Cowan, Gary Mines since the intelligence is currently CEO as its CEO and a director. Zak and Michael Steeves company’s incep- to generate and a director Henneberry replaces stepping down as directors. tion in 2006. He exploration of Dalradian Michael Dake, who has » Andrey Shamis has been has over 25 years of targets. Hood is Resources, stepped down as CEO, but appointed interim CEO of experience in the a professional and succeeds will remain a director. Angus Ventures; Shamis, exploration and geoscientist Grenville » Graeme Currie is now who joined the company’s mining industries, with 15 years of Thomas in the an advisor to Adamera board in 2017, succeeds founded Wolfden exploration and chairman role – Minerals. Patrick Langlois in this role. Resources and has mining experience. Thomas remains » Alto Ventures announced has been involved with In the new role, he a director of » Miloje Vicentijevic that in conjunction with resigned as Benz Mining’s a number of gold will be in charge the company. the closing of its merger president and CEO but and base metal dis- of the company’s Anderson was with Empress Resources, will remain on the board. coveries. Downie is technology strategy the co-founder, it has made changes to its Mathew O’Hara, a director the 2003 recipient for research and president, CEO leadership team. Mike of the company, will act as of the PDAC’s Bill development, and director Bandrowski has been interim CEO. Dennis Prospector project success and of Aurelian appointed president and CEO, following » Greg Gibson has resigned of the Year award. data management. Resources, which Mike Koziol’s and Richard as the president, CEO, Hood was most was acquired by Mazur’s resignations from director and chairman of recently the Kinross Gold the president and CEO roles, Bonterra Resources. Cesar company’s VP of in 2008. He is a respectively. Mazur will Gonzalez has been appointed technical services. geologist with remain a director. Mike chairman and Normand over 20 years of Bandrowski, David Rhodes, Champigny has been resource sector Jeremy Bond and Duncan named an independent non- experience. Gordon have been appointed executive director.

AUGUST 2020 CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL | 51 » Pamela White has been appointed corporate secretary of Bell Copper. » Oscar Mendoza is now a special advisor, Mexico, for Brigadier Gold. » Matt Halliday has been promoted to the position of president and COO of Canada Silver Cobalt Works. He will hold this new role in addition to his duties as VP of exploration. Halliday replaces Frank Basa as president; Basa will continue » Andy Wallace has joined the board of » Thomas Sarvas and Timothy as CEO. Allegiant Gold. Froude have joined the board of Benton Resources. » Christopher Ecclestone » Simon Clarke has been appointed to is now the president and CEO the board of American Lithium. G.A. » Ron Hall and Carlos Escribano have of Cascadero Copper. Lorne Binninger is now a special advisor to the stepped down from the board of Benz board. . Escribano will continue to act as Harder has been named Mining the company’s CFO. interim CFO and corporate » Carsten Korch has been named secretary. Ecclestone and a director of Asante Gold, following » Peter O’Malley has been named an Harder are also joining the the passing of Florian Riedl- independent non-executive director of company’s board. Brian Riedenstein. Bonterra Resources; Allan Folk has Causey has stepped down as resigned from the board. a director. » Alexandre Belleau has been named COO of Champion Iron Mines - https//www northernmnerobs com Belleau joined the company in 2016 and most recently was Champion’s general manager of projects and innovation. » Doug Reddy will » Richard Patricio has named project manager for transition to the COO role been named president the Niblack project in Alaska. » Tony Barresi is now with Equinox Gold at the and CEO of Generic Gold president and a director of » Paul Crath has been start of September, once following Kelly Malcolm’s named the interim CEO Colorado Resources. Barresi , the company’s Attie Roux resignation. Malcolm will of Highvista Gold; Janet was previously president and current COO, retires. remain a director. a director of Triumph Gold, O’Donnell is now the where he continues to serve » John Gammack has been » Mike Sieb has been named company’s interim CFO and as a technical advisor and is appointed CEO and president president of Getchell Gold; has joined the board. of , replacing also a director of ArcWest Far Resources Sieb has been a director of the » Randy Buffington has Exploration. Toby Mayo who will be company since 2018. Stephen stepped down from as moving into the position of Goodman has resigned from (formerly chairman, president and CEO » Enduro Metals VP technology development. his post as the company’s CFO Crystal Lake Mining) has of Hycroft Mining. Stephen and as a director. announced additions to its » Steve Cashin has joined Jones, the company’s as director of executive VP, CFO and management and technical Fiore Gold » Darryl Jones has technical services. Cashin secretary has been appointed team: Dylan Hunko is been named the CFO of is the former operations interim president and CEO now the company’s COO; Goldhaven Resources manager at Barrick Gold’s and David Kirsch, a director Malcolm Davidson has following Blaine Bailey’s Pueblo Viejo operation in the of the company, is the new been named CFO; Deborah resignation. Dominican Republic. chairman. , Cotter is joining as corporate Jeffrey Stieber » Benoit Moreau has VP of finance, has been secretary and John Ryan is » Marc Roy is now the resigned from his post as appointed interim CFO. now on the technical advisory CEO and a director of Focus president and director of committee. Graphite. » Andre Deepwell has Goldstar Minerals. Director retired as CFO and corporate Francois Perron will secretary with Imperial replace Moreau as president. Metals. The company has Mathieu Séguin has also appointed Darb Dhillon, its resigned from the board. current VP of finance, to fill , this role. » Heatherdale Resources has expanded its technical is now the , » Tim Williams team: Ryan Weymark COO of Marathon Gold; has joined as VP of project Williams is a professional edtor@c n d nmnnourn l com development, Jim Oliver is engineer with over 25 years now a technical advisor and of experience in mine Graham Neale has been construction and operations.

52 | CANADIAN MINING JOURNAL » Christopher Cheng is now on the » Trace Arlaud is now on the board of » Craig Parry is now the chairman of board of Canuc Resources. Global Atomic. QX Metals’ board. Rod McKeen and » Greg Andrews has been appointed to » Anne Giardini is now a director of John Williamson have resigned from the board of Cascadero Copper. K92 Mining. the board. » Euro Manganese has started a board » Newman Wayne Reid has joined the » Steven Kahn has stepped down from restructuring process, with strategic board of Leocor Ventures, following SolidusGold’s board. advisory roles planned for Roman Charanjit Hayre’s resignation. » Peter Mitchell has been appointed , and Shklanka Harvey McLeod Daniel » Peter MacPhail has joined the board to the board of Taseko Mines; Richard and two new independent Rosicky of Manitou Gold. Mundie and Alex Morrison did not directors envisioned for the board. stand for re-election. John Webster, Greg Martyr, David Peter Weidmann has retired from Dreisinger and Marco Romero will Meridian Mining’s board. » Matthew Quinlan, the interim CFO of Trevali Mining, has been appointed to continue as directors. Jan Votava will » Kevin Small has joined the board of resign as a director, but remain a member Minera Alamos. the board of Noront Resources. of the executive team as managing » is now a director of director of the company’s Czech Euler De Souza is now on the board of Thomas Masney , replacing . subsidiary. Nippon Dragon Resources. Orosur Mining HD Lee » has joined the » Murray Seitz, a director of » Ian Rice has joined the board of Elodie Grant Goodey Far Resources, has passed away. Oroco Resource with CFO Steve Vanry board of SolGold. stepping down as a director. » Peter Mullens has stepped down » Réjean Gosselin has joined from the board of G2 Goldfields. » J.J. Elkin has been appointed to the UrbanGold Minerals as an independent board of Plato Gold. director. » Jim Mustard has joined the board of Getchell Gold. » Brian Crawford is now a director of » Stephen Motteram has stepped down Portofino Resources. from the board of Xanadu Mines. » Thuso Dikgaka and Maureen Mokgaotsane are now on the board of Giyani Metals’ wholly owned subsidiary in Botswana, Menzi Battery Metals. Chec out wwwcndnmnnournlcom for more ssues of

» Marco Roque is now » Keith Benn is now the » Patrick Godin has joined Battiston has stepped down the CEO and a director VP of exploration for both Pretium Resources as VP as CFO and a director. of Margaux Resources. Mistango River Resources and COO; Godin succeeds » Russell Starr is now Tyler Rice will remain the and Orefinders Resources. David Prins, the company’s the president and CEO of company’s president. VP of operations. Doug has joined Trillium Gold Mines, with has resigned as a » Mac Jackson Foster ’s advisory » Alex Tsakumis is now the David Velisek resigning director. New Placer Dome board. VP of investor relations with as CEO and James Lenec » Hayden Locke has been Prime Mining. stepping down as president. » Scott Honan has Velisek will remain on the appointed president of has been promoted to the » Leonardo Elizalde company’s board while Lenec Marimaca Copper. been named manager of COO role with NioCorp will serve as VP of business project development with » Jean L’Heureux is now the Developments; Honan development and as a . COO of Mason Graphite. joined the company in Salazar Resources director. 2014 as VP of business » Perry Durning and » Adrian McArthur is now » Tony Barresi has resigned development. Frank Hillemeyer are now the CEO, president and a as president of Triumph technical advisors for Silver director of Meridian Mining » Peter Mullens has been Gold and stepped down from Dollar Resources. with Gilbert Clark stepping appointed VP of business the board. Joe Campbell has down from the interim CEO development with NxGold. » Standard Uranium has also resigned as a director. role; Clark will remain a added Galen McNamara and Barresi will continue as director. » Sean Spraggett is now the general manager, Panama, Sean Hillacre to its technical a technical advisor to the team: Hillacre has been company and is » Ramiro Massa is now the with Orla Mining. Brian Bower president and CEO of Minsud named project manager for now the lead director. » Brad George is now the the upcoming Davidson River Resources following Alberto » Matthew Roma is now CEO of Orosur Mining, drill program and McNamara, Orcoyen’s resignation; the CFO and corporate succeeding Ignacio Salazar. the CEO and a director of Orcoyen will continue to secretary of Western Pacific Summa Silver, has been serve as a director. Michael » Ron Stewart has been Resources with Eduardo Yu appointed a technical Johnston, the company’s appointed CEO of Pacific stepping down. advisor. CFO, has also been named Precious; Stewart is a corporate secretary with mining professional with » Ryan Ptolemy is now the Ramiro Massa stepping over 30 years of experience CFO of Sulliden Mining down. in exploration, project Capital and Wen Ye has development, operations and been appointed to the capital markets. company’s board. Deborah

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