A SAG mill begins commissioning at the Premier plant.
(Photo: Ascot Resources)

“The first gold pour is a hallmark commissioning milestone for Ascot, representing the culmination of years of hard work,” said Derek White, president and CEO, Ascot Resources. “We express our gratitude to our dedicated workforce, our diligent contractors, our supportive shareholders and financiers, Nisga’a Nation, government officials, and the local communities of Stewart, B.C., and Hyder, Alaska – all of whom played important roles in seeing this first gold pour come to fruition.”

Commercial production is anticipated in Q3 of 2024. The first gold pour was achieved from gold recovered through the gravity circuit. Commissioning of the carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit is currently underway. Rock was introduced into the mill’s grinding circuit on March 31, 2024, and the first ore was introduced into the mill afterwards.

As is customary for processing plant start-ups, waste rock was initially introduced into the grinding circuit to pad the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) and ball mill liners with barren material. Once that commissioning step was completed, the grinding system was re-torqued and gold-bearing ore was introduced into the mill on April 5, 2024.

The tailings storage facility, new water treatment plant, tailings thickener and pipeline systems are ready for operations. polyhalite.