- The Project has marked one full year of construction since early works commenced in
October 2022 . More than 800,000 hours of site work have been completed without a lost time incident; - The Project’s overall budget and schedule remain in line with previous guidance, with first gold on track for the first quarter of 2025;
- At quarter end, overall completion stood at 50%;
- During the quarter, important de-risking of the Project was achieved with the completion of earthworks at the process plant and significant advancement of earthworks at the Tailings Management Facility. Rock placement for the tailings dam footprint is now 96% complete;
- During the quarter, 1.56 Mtonnes of overburden and construction waste rock were mined from the Leprechaun and Marathon Pits, with record monthly performance of 0.58 Mtonnes during September. Project-to-date, 3.87 Mtonnes have been moved, ably supporting the Project’s construction schedule, and at mining costs trending below budget;
- During the quarter, Marathon was informed by
Impact Assessment Agency of Canada that the addition of the Berry Deposit to the Project’s permitted mine plan does not require a new impact assessment under the Impact Assessment Act; - Currently, 634 Marathon employees and contractors are employed or providing services to the Project, 85% of whom are residents of
Newfoundland andLabrador ; and - The Project now has permanent camp capacity of 424 beds and is on track to be connected to NL Hydro grid power by the end of the year, one full year before mill commissioning.
A video showing 12 months of construction at the Project is available at https://vimeo.com/870829907?share=copy.
Figure 1: Valentine Process Plant Site, Looking West,
Figure 2: Construction of the Tailings Management Facility, Looking West.
Site Progress Report
Process Plant Site Preparation and Foundations
During the third quarter, earthworks excavations were completed at the location of the SAG and Ball mills, the CIL tank farm, the tailings thickener, and the crushed ore stockpile and reclaim area. All load bearing sites successfully achieved geotechnical specifications for foundations, and the first foundation concrete pours commenced in July. By
During the quarter, pads were also completed at the Mine Maintenance Facility site, the ROM stockpile, and the conveyor alignment. Earthworks excavation of the primary crusher location was completed, and construction of the crusher’s Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) retaining wall with gabion baskets had commenced (Figure 3).
Ongoing civils works at the process plant site through the fourth quarter will include the completion of the SAG and Ball mill’s piers, completion of the grinding building wall footings, completion of the MSE wall, and the pouring of lean concrete and foundations for the primary crusher pad. Structural steel for the grinding building’s exterior frame has been delivered to site, with enclosing of the building scheduled for the end of the year.
Figure 3: Concrete Pedestals for the SAG and
Mining
Mining during the Project’s construction period is ongoing to generate rock for haul roads, pads and the TMF. During the third quarter, overburden removal and mining was transferred to the
Tailings Management Facility (TMF)
The Project’s TMF will be a thickened tailings facility with a capacity of 31.6 Mtonnes. It is formed by constructing a perimeter zoned rockfill embankment dam, which will be raised in 6 phases during the first 10 years of the Project. The upstream face of the dam will be lined with a geomembrane which is anchored into low-permeability foundation till, and which will extend approximately 100m upstream of the dam toe and overlay granular crushed rock filter layers.
Construction of the Phase 1 main dam commenced in July with preparation of the till and bedrock foundation, and subsequent placement of mine waste rock (“Zone 6” material with 600 mm minus sizing). As of
Production and placement of the upstream filter layers which consists of two zones of crushed rock (“Zone 1” material at 25 mm minus, and “Zone 2” material at 75 mm minus) commenced in late August. As of
Geomembrane liner deliveries commenced during the quarter, with installation scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2024.
Figure 4: Construction of the TMF. Spreading Filter Layers for Geomembrane Liner Placement.
Permanent Camp, Powerline and Infrastructure
During the quarter, the final dormitory of the permanent camp was completed and approved for occupancy, bringing total bed capacity to 424. Average camp occupancy during September was between 280 and 340 persons. Excess camp capacity is available if required in support of the construction schedule.
The Project’s 66 kV powerline has been completed over its full 40 km length and ready to be connected to the on-site transformer station (Figure 5). Subsequent to the quarter end, modifications to the
During the third quarter, upgrades to the Project’s 80 km access road from
The 80km road from
Figure 5: The Project’s 66kv Powerline, Now Complete from the
Engineering and Procurement
Detailed engineering is substantially complete on all aspects of the Project, with the exception of additional design hours to accommodate certain changes to mill building design in the areas of concrete, structural & layout design described in Marathon’s Second Quarter report (see Marathon news release dated 2nd August, 2023).
Procurement stands at approximately 72% complete. Marathon reports procurement on the basis of all Project goods and services on an earned progress basis. All long-lead items, including major mill components and the Project’s mobile mining fleet, have been procured. The SAG and Ball mills, including motors, are expected to be delivered to the site in the first quarter of 2024. Major construction packages remaining outstanding at the quarter end were the Structural, Mechanical and Piping, and Electrical and Instrumentation packages for the mill.
Schedule and Budget
The Project remains on schedule to achieve mill commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2024 and first gold in the first quarter of 2025. The Project’s critical path is the development of the process plant, including its foundations, building enclosure, equipping, and commissioning as well as the TMF. Earthworks associated with the development of the TMF are scheduled over two summer construction seasons and one winter season so as to allow operating tailings commissioning in the second half of 2024.
Capital costs incurred from the start of early works in
Human Resources
At the end of
Construction Permitting and Berry Environmental Assessment
In late
Marathon anticipates the Berry review processes will be completed during 2023 and 2024, well in advance of the scheduled commencement of mining at Berry in the second quarter of 2025.
Qualified Persons
Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release has been approved by Mr.
About Marathon
Marathon (TSX:MOZ) is a
For more information, please contact:
Manager, Investor Relations Tel: 416 855-8202 amallough@marathon-gold.com | President & CEO mmanson@marathon-gold.com | CFO jrobertson@marathon-gold.com |
To find out more information on
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Certain information contained in this news release, constitutes forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, which address events, results, outcomes or developments that Marathon expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, “considers”, “intends”, “targets”, or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “would” and “could”. We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future, and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. More particularly and without restriction, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information about the FS and the results therefrom (including IRR, NPV5%, Capex, FCF, AISC and other financial metrics and economic analysis), the realization of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, the future financial or operating performance of the Company and the Project, capital and operating costs, the ability of the Company to obtain all government approvals, permits and third-party consents in connection with the Company’s exploration, development and operating activities, the potential impact of COVID-19 on the Company, the Company’s ability to successfully advance the Project and anticipated benefits thereof, economic analyses for the
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions and accordingly, actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. You are hence cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In respect of the forward-looking statements concerning the interpretation of exploration results and the impact on the Project’s mineral resource estimate, the Company has provided such statements in reliance on certain assumptions it believes are reasonable at this time, including assumptions as to the continuity of mineralization between drill holes. A mineral resource that is classified as “inferred” or “indicated” has a great amount of uncertainty as to its existence and economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any or part of an “inferred mineral resource” or an “indicated mineral resource” will ever be upgraded to a higher category of mineral resource. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into proven and probable mineral reserves.
By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. Factors that could cause future results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits and conclusions of economic evaluations; uncertainty as to estimation of mineral resources; inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral resources); the potential for delays or changes in plans in exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, or the completion of feasibility studies due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that future exploration, development, construction or mining results will not be consistent with the Company’s expectations; risks related to the ability of the current exploration program to identify and expand mineral resources; risks relating to possible variations in grade, planned mining dilution and ore loss, or recovery rates and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; operational mining and development risks, including risks related to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes (including work stoppages and strikes) or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; risks related to commodity and power prices, foreign exchange rate fluctuations and changes in interest rates; the uncertainty of profitability based upon the cyclical nature of the mining industry; risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental or other stakeholder approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; risks related to environmental regulation and liability, government regulation and permitting; risks relating to the Company’s ability to attract and retain skilled staff; risks relating to the timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for continued operations and future development projects; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks relating to the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company and the mining industry; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; and other risks described in Marathon’s documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Annual Information Form for the year ended
You can find further information with respect to these and other risks in Marathon’s Annual Information Form for the year ended
Photos accompanying this announcement are available:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1331ff8-5d96-43c7-9381-822c3dc3af7c
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/131d1b31-4bf4-4a70-b36d-3504ad72ebfd
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5e3a34dc-27b0-4872-8ded-9a44afa4b260
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https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a644e04-2b5f-45e3-a928-2d2aca6ffa7e
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/62b85a4a-2604-4ba0-a55a-bac08df67008
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3b6b0757-f477-45eb-9ee8-8d6eb343a724
Valentine Process Plant
Figure 1: Valentine Process Plant Site, Looking West, October 2023 .
Tailings Management Facility
Figure 2: Construction of the Tailings Management Facility, Looking West. October 2023 .
Concrete Pedestals
Figure 3: Concrete Pedestals for the SAG and Ball Mills and Grinding Building Steel Work . October 2023
Gabion Basket Installation
Figure 3: Gabion Basket Installation for MSE Wall at Crusher Location October 2023 .
Construction of the TMF
Figure 4: Construction of the TMF. September 2023
Spreading Filter Layers for Geomembrane Liner Placement
Figure 4: Spreading Filter Layers for Geomembrane Liner Placement. September 2023
The Project's 66kv Powerline
Figure 5: The Project’s 66kv Powerline, Now Complete from the Star Lake Generating Station to the Project Site.
Ongoing Road Improvement
Figure 5: Ongoing Road Improvement Works
2023 GlobeNewswire, Inc., source