Artemis Gold Inc. announced the results of an expansion study for the Blackwater Mine in Central British Columbia. Blackwater is a world-class, large-scale advanced development project in a tier-one mining jurisdiction. The construction of the Phase 1 processing plant of 6 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa") is well advanced, and the expansion study considers that Phase 1 has been completed.

The purpose of the expansion study is to optimize the timing of mine expansion through the advancing of Phase 2 to year 3 of operations at an increased production capacity of 15 Mtpa, and Phase 3 to year 7 of operations at an increased production capacity of 25 Mtpa. The expansions are expected to be funded from operating cash flows based on the input assumptions of the expansion study. The expansion study is based on Blackwater's existing Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves and no changes were made to the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates.

The relevant capital and operating estimates have been updated to reflect 2024 cost estimates. The Company's Board of Directors is yet to commit to the acceleration of the Phase 2 expansion. A decision is expected to be considered in H2 2024.

In Second Quarter 2023, Artemis Gold announced additional investments of approximately C$50 million in the Phase 1 scope of work to facilitate the potential fast-tracking of Phase 2. These additional investments were included in the Phase 1 guided initial capital cost of C$730-C$750 million and included additional structural steel and increased conveyor belt widths in the crushing circuits, as well as the introduction of variable-speed drives to the ball mill. Selected electrical components were also upgraded to facilitate the Phase 2 requirements and to include optionality in relation to the use of redundancy backup power sources. Other Phase 1 optimizations included upsizing of the oxygen plant coupled with down-shaft-sparging of oxygen to the pre-leach and carbon-in-leach ("CIL") trains, along with the optimization of the CIL layout to facilitate non-intrusive expansion to Phase 2, as well as full conversion of the detoxification process to remove the need for tanker-supplied liquid sulphur dioxide.

At the end of December 2023, C$389 million of the guided initial capital had been spent, and C$615 million, or 84% of the lower end of the guided capital range, was fully contractually committed. For the expansion study, the Phase 1 guided initial capital costs are considered to have been spent and are not included in the reported net present value. The net present value is reported net of the scheduled repayment of the PLF associated with Phase 1 of C$385 million and all gold and silver stream participations.

On completion of Phase 1, the majority of infrastructure requirements for the Phase 2 expansion will already be in place, including the primary crushing circuit, water storage and distribution, hydro-electric power, maintenance workshops, laboratory, site administration buildings, warehouse and workforce facilities. Additional infrastructure required for Phase 2 includes a secondary crushing circuit, crushed ore stockpile, a second ball mill, a semi-autogenous ("SAG") grinding mill, the associated expansion of the mill, gold recovery and reagent buildings, additional leach and CIL tanks, expansion of the elution circuit, as well as the associated expansion of mobile maintenance infrastructure to support additional mining equipment. The expansion study mine plan considers conventional open pit mining methods (drill-blast-load-haul) in all phases.

Open pit mining operations are anticipated to run for 15 years, excluding pre-production mining. Following mining operations, stockpiled low-grade material is expected to be processed for an additional two years, resulting in a total mine life of 17 years. The open pit would be developed with a series of pushbacks.

The initial stages would expose near-surface, high-grade, lower-strip-ratio ore providing mill feed over the early years of the project. The remaining stages expand the pit to the north and south, targeting progressively deeper ore. Owner-managed mining and fleet maintenance operations are planned for 365 days/year, with two 12-hour shifts planned per day.

Contractor drill and blast services are planned for the first three years of operations, with drill operations converting to an owner-operated function thereafter, and contractor blasting services continuing throughout the remaining life of operations. Mining will be undertaken using 600-tonne class hydraulic shovels, 400-tonne class hydraulic excavators, and 240-tonne payload class haul trucks. The initial drill and loading fleets are planned to be diesel-drive, with the expansion fleet for drill and loading being electric-drive.

The haul fleet is currently assumed to be diesel-drive for the entire life of mine ("LOM"). The initial mine equipment fleet is paid back through a lease arrangement with the supplier the expansion fleet being funded from operating cash flows. Details of mining volumes and material movements contemplated in the expansion study are included in Appendix A to this news release.