What have been the main developments at Abcourt Mines’ Sleeping Giant project over the past year?

Abcourt Mines completed a PEA on the Sleeping Giant project in June 2023 and proceeded with refurbishing the mill and processing material from our satellite Pershing-Manitou deposit. As of May 2024, we have been undertaking the reconciliation of the Pershing-Manitou bulk sample, but have already begun processing material from the Sleeping Giant mine itself in late April. 

Abcourt Mines closed its non-brokered private placements and raised US$4.4 million. How will you use the capital raised? 

The institutional capital market is still difficult, but Abcourt Mines is fortunate to have strong support from our tight shareholder base, which provides financing when required. The funds raised are being used for diamond drilling and advancing the milling of the gold inventory building up in the mill. Our goal for the next few months is to begin small-scale production while we continue to drill and advance the engineering towards a pre-feasibility study.

Overall, capital is still not flowing into the mining industry as easily as it used to in the past, but with advancements being made and majors making profits, investors will eventually come back to the gold and overall mining industry, and we just have to continue to be diligent and efficient with our capital allocation until that time comes.

What is the strategy behind the company acquiring claims contiguous to the Abcourt-Barvue property?

The Abcourt-Barvue deposit is currently the only zinc deposit in Québec, and with zinc being a critical mineral, we saw it as a great opportunity to acquire claims on the Northwest trend of the deposit. Although our focus is on Sleeping Giant, we are keeping that zinc deposit in mind, as we know there is and will continue to be a zinc market. The Abcourt-Barvue resource is significant with 3% zinc as well as lead and silver, but as the market is currently not giving any value to this deposit our eventual goal will be to update this critical mineral resource to a new market price. 

How are the current high gold prices impacting Abcourt Mines’ capital allocation strategy? 

Abcourt Mines’ focus is now on drilling and advancing the Sleeping Giant project towards production as we need to become cashflow sufficient and independent from the capital market. Investors that are at the forefront and are participating in the private placement will be the ones winning as they are acquiring an asset at a US$25 million market cap, but once we start producing - and our goal is to advance the project to produce 100,000 oz/y - the market cap will significantly increase to the tremendous benefit of our shareholders. 

What are the challenges and opportunities ahead for the mining industry in Québec? 

When capital markets are difficult, the institutional investors you find uniquely in Québec can be helpful, whereas other jurisdictions in Canada do not have this financial support the province offers. More importantly, Québec has an experienced talent pool and great suppliers that can support every phase of a project’s growth, from exploration and development to operations. The geological endowment of the province also offers significant opportunity, with the Canadian shield – of which we have only scratched the surface – being great for exploration and potential huge discoveries. 

What are Abcourt Mines’ key priorities for 2024 and beyond? 

Our main priority will be drilling Sleeping Giant, advancing the engineering, and beginning a smal scale production towards commercial production within the next 18 months.