Some positive news for a local mining project.
Argonaut Gold says it has filed the closure plan for its Magino project, expecting to commence site preparation - like tree removal and clearing - immediately, with construction scheduled to begin as soon as that's complete.
The Toronto-based miner's envisioning a two-year construction period, leading to gold production in the first half of 2023.
The project's feasibility study outlines a 10,000 tonne per day processing facility, average annual gold production of 150,000 ounces over the first five years, with a 17-year mine life.
This comes as Argonaut's reporting strong drill results for Magino, saying the South Zone strike length's identified as 1.5 kilometres, remaining open to the west and at depth, warranting follow-up drilling.
Meanwhile, CEO Pete Dougherty's calling 2020 a "spectacular year", noting record quarterly gold production at its operations in Nevada and Mexico, as well as the merger with Alio Gold, the conclusion of Schedule 2 amendment, and the execution of a financing plan for development of Magino, which he says will be the focus of Argonaut's cash flow, budgeting $180 to $190-million in expansionary costs for the mine.
It's expected to transition Argonaut from a "relatively high-cost junior produce with short mine life assets to an intermediate lower-cost producer with long life assets".