Abcourt readies Sleeping Giant mill to pour first gold since 2014

The Sleeping Giant mill is turning again for the first time since 2014, says Abcourt Mines (TSXV: ABI). The company has invested approximately C$42 million in restarting the 950-tonne-per-day mill and the gold mine below it.

About 98% of the estimated resources at the Sleeping Giant mine are at a depth accessible from the existing shaft. The measured and indicated resource is 755,000 tonnes grading 7.14 g/t gold, containing 173,330 oz., while the inferred resource is 884,000 tonnes grading 8.74 g/t gold, containing 248,300 oz.

The company says the estimate is conservative as it does not include residual pillars or a five-metre buffer zone around existing infrastructure, the 50-metre crown pillar, or historical production.

Development at the 100%-owned Sleeping Giant mine has already begun. A 20,000-metre underground drill program was initiated in December 2023, and the results are aimed at upsizing the resources.

The mill and mine are located in the Abitibi greenstone belt, mid-way between Amos and Matagami, in Northern Quebec. The mine produced over 1 million oz. of gold from 1987 to 2014 from ore averaging 10.29 g/t gold. It treated ore from the Elder mine (2015-22) and a bulk sample from the Pershing-Manitou deposit (2024).

“We are very pleased with the way operations are going so far. Having the mill out of its care and maintenance mode is a major milestone that shows the market our constant advancement,” said Pascal Hamelin, president and CEO of Abcourt, in a release.

“We’ve operated this mill in the past, and we believe the ramp up and testing phase on the current material should be smooth and without major issues,” he added.

The company also holds 13 gold exploration projects in the region, all of which are within trucking distanced of the Sleeping Giant mill. They include the Cartwright prospect discovered in 2024 and the Flordin deposit explored in the 1980s.