Calibre Mining receives approval for third open pit mine in Valentine

“With this approval and the recent award of mining and surface leases with the Province for Berry and associated infrastructure, we now have the key approvals required for the three pit mine plan contained in the 2022 Feasibility Study,” said Darren Hall, CEO of Calibre.

“Since acquiring Valentine in January, we have advanced development to 98%, construction from 50% to 77%, and hired an experienced operations team, positioning us to deliver first gold in the second quarter of 2025.”

Valentine consists of a series of mineralized deposits along a 20-kilometer trend. The December 2022 feasibility study outlined an open pit and conventional milling operation over a mine life of 14.3 years with an after-tax rate of return of 22% and an average gold production profile of 195,000 ounces of gold per year for the first 12 years.

The project has estimated Measured and Probable Mineral Reserves of 2.7 Moz (51.6 Mt at 1.62 g/t Au) and a Mineral Resource estimate for the total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources (including Mineral Reserves) of 3.96 Moz (64.62 Mt at 1.90 g/t Au). Additional Inferred Mineral Resources are 1.10 Moz (20.75 Mt at 1.65 g/t Au).

Calibre expects Valentine, acquired through the Marathon acquisition, to be the largest gold mine in Atlantic Canada.

In a note to clients, investment bank Canaccord Genuity said the continued development of the Valentine gold mine was “very positive” for the company.

Calibre Mining shares fell 4% to C$1.95 a share in Toronto on Tuesday morning, valuing the company at C$1.54 billion (US$1.12 billion).