Pure Gold Initiates PEA at Historic Madsen Mine

Pure Gold Mining has initiated a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of its 100% owned Madsen gold project in Ontario’s Red Lake district. The PEA will provide a base-case assessment of near-term development opportunities utilizing existing mining infrastructure, including a permitted mill and tailings facility, to develop an existing near-surface mineral resource.

“The Madsen gold project is a unique Canadian-based asset with a history of high-grade production, an in-situ high-grade gold resource, mining infrastructure, and permitted milling and tailings facilities. The completion of an assumed 500-mt/d base-case development scenario will be a stepping stone as we target resource growth through our accelerated exploration program,” Pure Gold President and CEO Darin Labrenz said.

Nordmin Engineering’s Mining Services Division in Sudbury, Ontario, has been contracted to work with Pure Gold’s technical team on the PEA. Nordmin will report on scoping-level capital costs, operating costs, and project economics associated with the potential development of the Madsen mineral resource.

Detailed mine design will utilize an existing surface portal, phased expansion of the related ramp, and mechanized underground mining methods. A review of past milling performance and metallurgical recovery will be based on existing mill records.

An existing Environmental Compliance Approval allows for operation of a 1,089-mt/d mill and carbon-in-pulp circuit, with discharge of treated tailings to an existing tailings facility.

The historic Madsen mine operated for more than 36 years and produced 2.5 million oz of gold at grades of 9.9 g/mt gold. The Austin horizon was the principal source of mill feed and was mined from surface to a depth of 1,200 m, producing 170,000 oz of gold per 100 vertical m.

Pure Gold’s current Madsen gold project has an indicated resource of 928,000 oz gold at 8.93 g/mt gold in 3.24 million mt and an inferred resource of 297,000 oz at 11.74 g/mt in 0.79 million mt. In addition to the mineral resource, the project hosts a number of highly prospective new discoveries, including the Fork Zone and Russet South targets, where drilling in 2015 returned 15 g/mt gold over 5 m and 39.1 g/mt gold over 2.9 m.