North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Victoria Gold Corp. Nov. 7 said the C$40 million of pre-development activities at its Eagle Gold Mine project in the Yukon are nearly complete.

This program, structured to de-risk the earthwork areas of the mine development project and to prepare the site for efficient construction activities, included: heap leach embankment preparation; control pond construction; project access road and bridge upgrades; pioneering of site roads to the crusher area and gold recovery plant; expansion of the camp to 250 bed capacity, along with a larger kitchen, dining and recreation facilities; advancing detailed engineering, roughly 50 percent complete; and securing competitive pricing on long-lead items.

The only field work item remaining to be completed is the control pond construction, which is expected to be finished by the end of the month.

"The phase-1 program has fulfilled the purpose of de-risking the project," said Tony George, vice-president, project execution, Victoria Gold. "For example, the heap leach facility embankment foundation excavation and preparation confirmed the type and elevation of bedrock, which is a major advantage as we detail the next stage of construction."

The open-pit, heap-leach operation at Eagle Gold is expected to produce 190,000 ounces of gold annually over a 10-year mine life from 116 million metric tons of reserves averaging 0.67 grams per metric ton (2.66 million oz) gold outlined prior to a 2016 updated feasibility study for the project.

Victoria is targeting the first gold pour from Eagle in 2019.

-SHANE LASLEY