LaFleur Minerals Revives Beacon Gold Mill with PEA Underway
LaFleur Minerals is set to revive its Beacon Gold Mill, with a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) underway to evaluate the project's feasibility. The study, led by global consulting firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM), will provide realistic costing and assess the state of the mine and mill infrastructure.
The PEA will consider operating costs from when the mill last operated in 2022, the readiness of the Beacon Mine and Mill, and the quality of mineralized material and access at the Swanson Gold Project. It will also explore open-pit mining at the Swanson Gold Deposit and the use of ore-sorting technology to concentrate mineralized material prior to milling.
LaFleur aims to supply the mill primarily with mineralized material from its 100%-owned Swanson Gold Deposit, located in Val d'Or, Quebec, with toll milling options from other regional deposits. The company has already conducted technical studies to upgrade the tailings pond at the Beacon Mill, providing detailed costs for the necessary work.
The PEA, managed by ERM's Technical Mining Services Group, will include a mineral resource estimate update, open-pit mine plan, ore-sorting and metallurgical testing programs, and Beacon Gold Mill restart costs. Definition drilling at the Swanson Gold Deposit is currently underway to provide an updated mineral resource confirmation.
The Beacon Gold Mill, recently refurbished with over $20 million worth of upgrades and including a fully permitted tailings storage facility, is poised for restart. The PEA, serving as the basis for this restart, will help LaFleur Minerals make informed decisions about resuming gold production from the Swanson Gold Deposit. The company has also approved the issuance of 1,000,000 stock options as part of its incentive stock option plan.
