Maritime Resources pours first gold at Newfoundland mine
Canada’s Maritime Resources (TSXV: MAE) has poured first gold at its Hammerdown project in northwest Newfoundland, the first time the mine has produced yellow metal since 2004.
The pour comes from stockpiled material at Hammerdown and was processed at Maritime’s nearby Pine Cove mill. It caps off a year of construction and commissioning work at the mine, located near the town of Baie Verte.
“Bringing the Pine Cove mill back into operation after two years of care and maintenance, completing all project permitting and seeing the first gold poured from Hammerdown is the result of a tremendous effort by our team and the support of our shareholders, local communities and the province,” Maritime President and CEO Garett Macdonald said in a release.
M&A momentum
The milestone comes just over two months after New Found Gold (TSXV: NFG; NYSE-A: NFGC) announced it was acquiring Maritime in a C$292 million ($212 million) deal that is to create a multi-asset gold producer in central Newfoundland. The new company would combine New Found’s Queensway project, due to start production in 2027, with Hammerdown.
The two projects, 180 km apart, are set to benefit from shared infrastructure including Maritime’s Pine Cove mill and the Nugget Pond hydrometallurgical plant. The acquisition is expected to close in this year’s fourth quarter and Maritime’s shares would then be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange.
Maritime shares gained 5.6% to C$2.25 apiece on Wednesday afternoon in Toronto, for a market capitalization of C$258.8 million ($184.8 million)
Past producing site
Gold was last produced at Hammerdown by Richmont Mines from an underground mine from 2000 to 2004, averaging 15.7 grams gold per tonne and churning out 143,000 ounces.
Construction of Hammerdown, including development of the open pit mine is well advanced, Maritime said.
The ramp-up to full production at Hammerdown is planned for early next year.
Hammerdown could produce 50,000 oz. annually at an all-in sustaining cost of $912 per oz., according to a 2022 feasibility study. Proven and probable reserves stand at 1.9 million tonnes grading 4.46 grams gold for 272,000 contained ounces. The feasibility study gave Hammerdown an after-tax net present value of C$251 million at a 5% discount rate using a base-case gold price of $2,500 per ounce.