Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ausenco Engineering has been awarded a contract for engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the Magino mine.
“We are very pleased to partner with Ausenco on the Magino project construction,” said Pete Dougherty, president and CEO at Argonaut Gold. “Ausenco is an industry leader in the field of building high-quality processing facilities in the mining industry and recently did an excellent job with the Moose River project in Nova Scotia.
“We are excited for Magino to be one of the first projects entering construction in the current gold price environment, as we feel first mover advantage is critical when securing a construction team of the highest quality and with a superior track record.”
Argonaut recently posted the first phase of financial assurance with the province of Ontario and expects the Magino project Closure Plan will be filed by the province of Ontario in January 2021, which will allow for construction to commence.
The contract is about 40 per cent of Magino’s initial capital estimate of between $480 million and $510 million. Magino is located about 200 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie. Argonaut acquired the project from Prodigy Gold in 2012.
The mine is described as a “scalable, long-life asset,” that could produce 150,000 ounces of gold in each of the first five years of production.
Magino is Argonaut’s only Canadian asset in the company’s pipeline of mine development and exploration projects in Mexico and across North America.
Argonaut Gold is a Canadian gold company engaged in exploration, mine development and production. Its primary assets are the El Castillo mine and San Agustin mine, which together form the El Castillo Complex in Durango, Mexico, the La Colorada mine in Sonora, Mexico and the Florida Canyon mine in Nevada, USA. Advanced exploration projects include the Magino project in Ontario, Canada and the Cerro del Gallo project in Guanajuato, Mexico. The Company continues to hold several other exploration stage projects, all of which are located in North America.