Global measured and indicated mineral resources of 20.5 million ounces (inclusive of mineral reserves)
Advancing North America's 4th Largest Gold Reserves Towards Development
Detour Gold Corporation (TSX:DGC) is a Canadian gold exploration and development company with a highly experienced management and technical team whose primary focus is to advance the development of its flagship Detour Lake project located on the northern most, relatively under-explored Abitibi Greenstone Belt in northeastern Ontario.
Well financed with $63 M cash & no debt – Sept 4 2008
Detour Gold listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange on January 31, 2007 after a successful initial public offering, raising gross proceeds of C$35 million. In August 2006, the Company had signed an agreement to purchase the Detour Lake asset from Pelangio Mines Inc. With the closing of the transaction, Pelangio received a total of C$5 million and 20 million shares of Detour Gold, now representing a 42% equity interest in Detour Gold on a fully diluted basis.
The Detour Lake asset encompasses 265 square kilometers of prospective ground, including the Detour Lake deposit, which produced 1.8 million ounces of gold from 1983 to 1999. On July 2, 2008, Detour Gold reported an updated resource of 10.8 million ounces in the measured and indicated categories and 2.4 million ounces in the inferred category, based on a detailed engineered pit design (refer to July 2, 2008 press release). In addition, Detour Gold has a 50% interest in the adjacent Block A.
There is excellent potential to further increase the resource base especially to the west of the Calcite Zone and below the former open pit. Approximately 40% from the Phase II drilling program (142, 000 metres) remains to be released and an additional 30,000 metres of drilling (Phase III) is currently underway to properly continue the infill of the deposit on a 40 metre by 40 metre grid and to expand the deposit to the west.
In April 2008, Detour Gold entered into an agreement with Goldcorp Canada ("Goldcorp") to exercise its option for a 100% interest in the Detour Lake Mine Property (Mine Option"), which hosts the current resource. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008. At that time, Detour Gold will assume all of Goldcorp's liabilities and obligations relating to the Mine Option. Part of the exploration properties and the Mine Option are subject to a 2% NSR to Newmont and a 1% NSR to Goldcorp.
Highlights of the Pre-feasibility Study (base case using US$775/oz gold)
- Proven and probable open pit reserves of 8.81 million ounces contained gold with a waste to ore ratio of 3.8 to 1
- 14.5 years life of mine (LOM) at mill throughput of 45,000 tonnes per day (tpd)
- Average annual gold production of approximately 560,000 ounces
- Average LOM cash operating costs of $404/oz
- At $775/oz, pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of $621 million at a 5% discount rate generating an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 13.5%
- At $900/oz, pre-tax NPV of $1.19 billion at a 5% discount rate generating an IRR of 20.1%
- Estimated start up capital costs of $844 million
- Opportunities to improve project economics for feasibility study
- Global measured and indicated mineral resources of 17.3 million ounces (inclusive of mineral reserves) and 5.2 million ounces in the inferred category