Artemis Gold said it has experienced unexpected delays with the configuration of and communication within the process control network and encountered constrained vendor availability during the holiday season. As a result, the company said it has not yet completed final commissioning of the wet plant at the Blackwater gold mine in central British Columbia. It said it now expects to commence processing of ore through the ball mill and first gold pour in January 2025.
At the beginning of Q4 2024, construction activities at the Blackwater Mine were nearly complete (95%). Artemis was targeting a first gold pour for late Q4 2024.
The tailings storage facility was completed by the end of October 2024. The initial mining fleet had been commissioned. Pre-stripping activities, as well as the construction of haul roads, were well underway. First ore was delivered to the run-of-mine pad during November.
Everything was moving forward according to plan except the processing facility. To accelerate the commissioning of the processing facility, the company took over responsibility for plant commissioning and the remaining construction activities from the EPC contractor.
The Blackwater mine also experienced two separate wildfire events which halted construction at the site for a total of approximately 45 days during the most productive months of the build. This created an additional fixed overhead drag on the project, and the benefit of operating cash flows were deferred. Pushing the first pour to January further delays the cash flow benefit.
Prior to this latest announcement, the company had updated its initial capital guidance to first gold pour to $780 – $800 million from $730 – $750 million, an increase of approximately 7%. The company has a stand-by facility, which provides additional flexibility for any further contingencies.
While Artemis did not name the EPC contractor in this latest announcement. The company did report that the Sedgman EPC contract work was 75% complete overall at the end of December 2023.
