Canada-based Kinross Gold Corporation has completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Great Bear gold project in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, with the results reaffirming the project’s potential to become a world-class operating mine.  

The assessment identified the Great Bear site as a high-grade, open-pit and underground mine with a planned mine life of 12 years.  

The total production cost of sales is estimated at $594/oz. 

The Great Bear project is expected to produce more than 500,000oz of gold per year at an all-in sustaining cost of $800/oz during the first eight years, with processing by a conventional 10,000 tonnes-per-day mill. The company also updated its mineral resource estimate, increasing the inferred resource estimate by 568,000oz to 3.88 million ounces (moz).  Existing measured and indicated resources at the site total   2.738moz.  

Paul Rollinson, chief executive officer of Kinross, explained that the PEA marked an important milestone for the Great Bear project, reaffirming the company’s view of the site as a high-quality asset with the potential to be a world-class operational mine.  

He said: “This PEA represents the first view of unlocking Great Bear’s full potential... The ongoing drilling to depth has already shown multiple wide, high-grade intercepts beyond the current resource used in the PEA.” 

Kinross said it has the financial resources to advance the development of the Great Bear project. The total initial construction capital for the mine is forecasted at $1.2bn (C$1.63bn), with around $250m needed prior to commercial gold production.  

The results of the PEA confirm that Great Bear has the potential to be a “cornerstone asset with a top-tier production profile, low costs and significant value”.   

Kinross acquired the Great Bear project (previously known as the Dixie project) from Great Bear Resources as part of a $1.4bn deal agreed in late 2021.