Artemis Gold officially opened its Blackwater mine, Canada’s newest gold-silver mine, in central British Columbia on May 30 with members of the federal, local and Indigenous governments, industry associations, and other stakeholders in attendance.
“Today marks the official opening of Blackwater mine after an industry leading 22 months of construction and three months of commissioning, a phenomenal achievement in our industry,” said Steven Dean, chairman and CEO of Artemis Gold.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team for achieving this milestone. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would also like to thank the federal and provincial government, the Lhoosk’uz Dené, Ulkatcho, Nadleh Whut’en, Saik’uz, Stellat’en and Nazko First Nations, along with the communities across the mine region, and our contractors and business partners for their support in helping us get to this point. What we have achieved together is a model for the sustainable and responsible development of mines in first world jurisdictions, like Canada.”
The mine is planned to be developed in three phases. Construction of phase 1 was completed earlier this year with commercial production achieved in early May. Artemis Gold said a decision about accelerating the phase 2 expansion of the mine will be made later this year.
Blackwater is an open-pit truck and shovel mine with total M&I resources of 11.7 million ounces of gold and 122.4 million oz. of silver. It is forecasted to produce between 190,000-230,000 oz. of gold in FY2025. The mine is located 160 kilometers southwest of Prince George.
Source: Artemis Gold