Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX: VGCX) has provided updated production and cost guidance for 2021.
Revised Gold Production Guidance and Supply Chain Disruption
The company achieved a record 55,827 ounces gold production in Q3 2021. For the first nine months of the year, the company produced 114,726 ounces gold.
Based on actual production over the first nine months, stacking rates and forecasted gold production, the company had previously anticipated full year 2021 production to be close to the lower end of the guidance range of 180,000 ounces.
During Q4 2021, the company was delayed approximately five weeks in receipt of required driplines used to irrigate the heap leach pad. During this period,”low flow” driplines were installed as an alternate until the shipment of new driplines arrived.
The low flow driplines delivered less leach solution to freshly stacked ore on the heap leach pad than would be anticipated using regular driplines resulting in an extended leach cycle. Freshly stacked ore contains the highest portion of recoverable gold and contributes significantly to gold production for the first 45 days under leach.
All low flow driplines have subsequently been replaced and normal leaching has resumed. However, a considerable portion of gold production expected to be recovered in Q4 2021 will now be realized in Q1 2022. As such, the Company is now expecting gold production to be up to 10% below previous guidance of 180,000 ounces gold for 2021. As a result of the adjusted production guidance, all-in sustaining cost per gold ounce is expected to be up to 5% above previous guidance of US$1,175.
“While it is disappointing to be revising our gold forecast for 2021, our cash flow remains strong and we will realise the delayed gold ounces early in 2022,” stated John McConnell, President & CEO. “Like many companies, we are experiencing pressure on our supply chain. We continue to work with all of our suppliers very closely to avoid such disruptions as COVID related challenges persist.”
About the Dublin Gulch Property
Victoria Gold’s 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold property is situated in central Yukon Territory, Canada, approximately 375 kilometers north of the capital city of Whitehorse, and approximately 85 kilometers from the town of Mayo. The Property is accessible by road year round, and is located within Yukon Energy’s electrical grid.
The Property covers an area of approximately 555 square km, and is the site of the company’s Eagle and Olive Gold Deposits. The Eagle Gold Mine is Yukon’s newest operating gold mine. The Eagle and Olive deposits include Proven and Probable Reserves of 3.3 million ounces of gold from 155 million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, as outlined in a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine dated December 3, 2019. The Mineral Resource under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) for the Eagle and Olive deposits has been estimated to host 227 million tonnes averaging 0.67 grams of gold per tonne, containing 4.7 million ounces of gold in the “Measured and Indicated” category, inclusive of Proven and Probable Reserves, and a further 28 million tonnes averaging 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, containing 0.6 million ounces of gold in the “Inferred” category.
For further information please visit: https://vgcx.com/
