Northern Ontario gold mine breaks ground on third expansion

Dignitaries and local First Nation leaders are gathering at the ground-breaking ceremony near Dubreuilville for Island Gold Mine's Phase 3 expansion Monday.

The mine, located in northern Ontario about 80 kilometres northeast of Wawa, is one of Alamos Gold Inc.'s three producing mines. The company's other Canadian gold mine, Young-Davidson, is also in northern Ontario – near Matachewan, about 60 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake. The third is in Mulatos, Mexico.

The Island Gold Mine began commercial production in October 2007, the company's website said, and has produced more than 1,000,000 ounces of gold.

Alamos Gold bought Richmont Mines and the Island Gold mine in November 2017.

This third shaft expansion is expected to be completed in 2025 and bring the mining and milling rates from 1,200 tonnes per day (tpd) to 2,000 tpd.

"Long-hole open stoping will continue to be utilized as the primary mining method with increased development and key infrastructure changes including the addition of a paste plant and shaft," Alamos Gold said.

"The shaft will be sunk to an initial depth of 1,373 metres. The hoisting plant is designed for an ultimate depth of 2,000 metres providing flexibility to accommodate future exploration success. Following the completion of the shaft construction in 2025, the operation will transition from trucking ore and waste to skipping ore and waste to surface through the new shaft infrastructure, driving production higher and costs significantly lower."

The Phase 3 expansion also includes "upgrades to the crushing circuit, the addition of a second parallel ball mill, and a new elution and carbon-in-pulp circuit."

"The property is currently comprised of 1,187 patented, leased and staked claims covering 15,053 hectares," Alamos Gold said.