Alamos Gold Announces Positive Feasibility Study for the Lynn Lake Project
ALAMOS GOLD INC.
Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 3910, P.O. Box #823
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 2T3
Telephone: (416) 368-9932 or 1 (866) 788-8801
All amounts are in United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.
F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E
W E B S I T E : w w w . a l a m o s g o l d . c o m T R A D I N G S Y M B O L : T S X : A G I N Y S E : A G I
Alamos Gold Announces Positive Feasibility Study for the Lynn Lake Project
Toronto, Ontario (December 14, 2017) – Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX:AGI; NYSE:AGI) (“Alamos”
or the “Company”) today reported results from the positive feasibility study conducted on its
Lynn Lake Gold Project (“Lynn Lake”), located in Manitoba, Canada. All amounts are in
United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.
Feasibility Study Highlights
Declared an initial Proven and Probable mineral reserve of 26.8 million tonnes (“Mt”)
grading 1.89 grams per tonne of gold (“g/t Au”), containing 1.6 million ounces of gold
Average annual gold production of 170,000 ounces over the first six years and 143,000
ounces over the first 10 years with life of mine production of 1.5 million ounces
Life of mine total cash costs of $645 per ounce of gold and attractive mine-site all-in
sustaining costs of $745 per ounce
Initial capital estimate of $338 million and total life of mine capital, including sustaining
capital and reclamation costs, of $486 million
After-tax net present value (“NPV”) of $123 million at a 5% discount rate and an after-
tax internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 12.5%, representing a 4.6 year payback using base
case gold and silver price assumptions of $1,250 and $16.00 per ounce, respectively
and a USD/CAD foreign exchange rate of $0.75:1
The Company has also identified a number of opportunities to enhance the overall
economics of the project through an evaluation of a smaller, higher grade mine plan,
employing contract mining, and incorporating exploration success over the past year
which has not be factored into the feasibility study
“We acquired the Lynn Lake project in 2016 for $20 million and with the completion of the
feasibility study, have outlined solid base case economics for the project with an after-tax net
present value over $120 million. As we advance the project through permitting over the next
two years, we see excellent potential to further enhance its overall economics through a
number of avenues, including incorporating recent exploration success. We expect stronger
economics prior to making a construction decision. With its location in one of the best mining
jurisdictions in the world, Lynn Lake is an important piece of our longer term growth strategy,”
said John A. McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer.
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1. Average annual production excludes pre-commercial production
2. Reported waste-to-ore ratio is over the life of mine and includes overburden as waste. The waste-to-ore ratio during commercial
production is 7.06:1
3. Total unit cost per tonne (“t”) of ore includes royalties and silver as a by-product credit
4. Total cash costs and mine-site all-in sustaining costs include royalties and silver as a by-product credit
Feasibility Study Highlights - December 2017
Production
Mine life (years) 10.4
Total gold production (000 ounces) 1,495
Total silver production (000 ounces) 1,263
Average annual gold production 1
Years 1 to 6 (000 ounces) 170
Years 1 to 10 (000 ounces) 143
Total ore mined (000 tonnes) 26,803
Total waste mined (000 tonnes) 195,188
Total material mined (000 tonnes) 221,991
Waste-to-ore ratio 2 7.28
Average grade (grams per tonne)
Gold 1.89
Silver 2.99
Recovery (%)
Gold (Average MacLellan and Gordon) 92%
Silver (MacLellan only) 49%
Average mill throughput (tonnes per day (“tpd”)) 7,000
Operating Costs
Total cost per tonne of ore3 $36.06
Total cash cost (per ounce sold) 4 $645
Mine-site all-in sustaining cost (per ounce sold) 4 $745
Capital Costs (millions)
Pre-production capital expenditure $338.0
Sustaining capital expenditure $126.6
Reclamation costs $21.1
Total capital expenditure $485.6
Base Case Economic Analysis
IRR (after-tax) 12.5%
NPV @ 0% discount rate (millions, after-tax) $279.0
NPV @ 5% discount rate (millions, after-tax) $123.4
Gold price assumption (average, per ounce sold) $1,250
Silver price assumption (average, per ounce sold) $16.00
Exchange Rate (US Dollar/Canadian Dollar) 0.75
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Mineral Reserves and Resources
An initial Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve totaling 26.8 Mt, grading 1.89 g/t Au and 2.99
g/t Ag, containing 1.6 million ounces of gold and 2.6 million ounces of silver has been
declared at Lynn Lake reflecting the successful conversion of Measured, Indicated and
Inferred Mineral Resources at the Gordon and MacLellan deposits. Only Mineral Reserves
have been incorporated into the mine plan and economic analysis.
Mineral Reserves – Effective as of December 1, 2017
Classification Tonnage
(Mt)
Au Grade
(g/t)
Ag Grade
(g/t)
Au Oz
Contained
(x1000)
Ag Oz
Contained
(x1000)
Gordon Proven 2.31 2.82 210
Probable 6.41 2.27 468
Proven & Probable 8.72 2.42 678
MacLellan Proven 9.55 1.91 5.01 586 1,539
Probable 8.53 1.32 3.79 361 1,039
Proven & Probable 18.08 1.63 4.43 947 2,578
Total Lynn
Lake
Proven 11.86 2.09 4.03 796 1,539
Probable 14.94 1.73 2.16 829 1,039
Total Proven and Probable 26.80 1.89 2.99 1,625 2,578
Mineral Reserves reported are in agreement with the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
The Mineral Reserve is estimated using metal prices of US$1,250/Au oz and US$15.00/Ag oz.
Totals may not add up due to rounding.
The estimates were carried out using cut-off grades of 0.69 Au g/t for Gordon and 0.47 Equivalent Au g/t for MacLellan and
a metallurgical Au recovery of 89-94% for Gordon and 91-92% for MacLellan.
The estimate of Mineral Reserves was carried out under the supervision of Efthymios Koniaris, PhD., P.Eng. of Q’Pit Inc.
Mineral resources from the Gordon and MacLellan deposits detailed below have not currently
been included in the mine plan but represent potential upside through their incorporation into
the mine plan with higher metal prices and additional infill drilling.
Open Pit Mineral Resources – Effective as of December 1, 2017
MacLellan
Category Tonnage
(Mt)
Au Grade
(g/t) Ag Grade (g/t)
Au oz
Contained
(x1000)
Ag oz
Contained
(x1000)
Measured 2.11 1.86 5.34 126 362
Indicated 2.24 1.24 4.24 89 305
Measured & Indicated 4.35 1.57 4.77 215 667
Inferred 0.75 1.62 2.80 39 67
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Gordon
Category
Tonnage
(Mt)
Au Grade
(g/t)
Ag Grade (g/t) Au oz
Contained
(x1000)
Ag oz
Contained
(x1000)
Measured 0.01 1.72 n/a 0.47 n/a
Indicated 0.45 1.96 n/a 28 n/a
Measured & Indicated 0.46 1.96 n/a 29 n/a
Inferred 0.62 1.30 n/a 26 n/a
Total
Category
Tonnage
(Mt)
Au Grade
(g/t)
Ag Grade (g/t) Au oz
Contained
(x1000)
Ag oz
Contained
(x1000)
Measured 2.12 1.86 5.31 127 362
Indicated 2.69 1.36 3.53 118 305
Measured & Indicated 4.81 1.58 4.32 244 667
Inferred 1.37 1.48 1.53 68 67
The Mineral Resources are reported at an assumed gold price of US$1,400/ounce, and an assumed silver price of
US$22.00/ounce
The Mineral Resource estimate was completed by Mr. Jeffrey Volk, CPG, FAusIMM, Director of Reserves and Resources
for Alamos Gold Inc.
Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that
all or any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves.
Mineral Resources are stated as contained within potentially economically o pen pit above a 0.4 2 g/t AuEq cut -off for
MacLellan and a 0.62 g/t Au cut-off for Gordon. Mineral Resources include external dilution from outside the 0.50 g/t Au
grade solid.
Numbers may not add due to rounding.
Mineral Resources are exclusive of Mineral Reserves.
Economic Analysis
Lynn Lake’s estimated base case after-tax IRR is 12.5% and after-tax NPV is $123 million,
using a 5% discount rate based on an economic analysis conducted as part of the Feasibility
Study. This represents a 4.6 year payback assuming a gold price of $1,250 per ounce, a
USD/CAD foreign exchange rate of $0.75:1, and incorporates only Proven and Probable
mineral reserves. The project economics are sensitive to metal price assumptions and input
costs as detailed in the tables below.
Lynn Lake After-Tax NPV (5%) Sensitivity ($ Millions)
-10% -5% Base Case 5% 10%
Gold Price $36.5 $83.2 $123.4 $166.8 $206.1
Canadian Dollar $186.0 $156.9 $123.4 $93.5 $57.2
Capital Costs $154.4 $139.2 $123.4 $107.5 $97.5
Operating Costs $169.0 $146.7 $123.4 $99.7 $81.4
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Lynn Lake After-Tax NPV (5%) and IRR Sensitivity to Gold Price
Gold Price After-Tax NPV5% ($M) After-Tax IRR (%)
$1,100 $17.5 6.1%
$1,200 $92.7 10.6%
$1,250 $123.4 12.5%
$1,300 $158.3 14.5%
$1,400 $222.7 18.0%
$1,500 $289.8 21.5%
Project Overview
The Lynn Lake project is comprised of the Gordon and MacLellan deposits which are located
approximately 30 kilometres (“km”) apart (straight line). The two deposits will be mined using
conventional open pit mining methods with a centralized processing plant and tailings
management facility to be located at MacLellan.
Permitting
The Project Description for Lynn Lake was submitted to the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Agency (CEAA) in July 2017, initiating the federal Environmental Assessment
(EA) process. Final Guidelines for the Preparation of an Environmental Impact Study (EIS)
were received in November 2017. An EIS document is currently being prepared that will be
submitted to satisfy federal and provincial EA requirements. The EIS is being prepared
utilizing environmental baseline information that has been compiled through extensive field
investigations over a two-year period. The Company has also engaged area First Nation
communities and Métis organizations in its project planning activities. The permitting process
is expected to take approximately two years followed by two years of construction.
Mining
Both the Gordon and MacLellan deposits will be developed using conventional shovel/truck
open pit mining methods with owner mining assumed within the Feasibility Study. The Gordon
and MacLellan deposits are expected to operate concurrently for the first six years of
operation, with Gordon to be depleted first given its higher grades and lower stripping ratio. As
the Gordon pit nears depletion, mining equipment will be transferred to MacLellan and utilized
over the remainder of its mine life.
Following a one year pre-production period at Gordon and two-year pre-production period at
MacLellan, combined mining rates are expected to range between 20.5 and 27.0 Mt of
material per year over the first seven years. This includes peak mining rates of 13 Mt at
Gordon and 24.7 Mt at MacLellan.
Loading of ore and waste rock is planned to be carried out with two 300 t class hydraulic
shovels and two front end loaders, paired primarily with 144 t capacity mine trucks. Ore from
MacLellan will be hauled to the primary crusher (located to the south of the pit). All ore from
Gordon will be transported approximately 55 km to the process facility at MacLellan via a fleet
of 23 highway trucks, each with a capacity of approximately 30 t.
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Processing, Metallurgy and Infrastructure
Lynn Lake’s process plant has been designed as a conventional milling operation with a
nominal capacity of 7,000 tpd. The proposed plant design is based on leach/carbon in pulp
(“CIP”), and will consist of crushing, grinding, thickening, pre-aeration and leaching, CIP,
cyanide detoxification, carbon elution and regeneration, and gold smelting.
The flow sheet incorporates the following major process operations:
Two-stage crushing and stockpile,
Semi-autogenous grinding (SAG),
Ball mill grinding and classification,
Leaching and CIP adsorption,
Desorption and gold room,
Tailings detoxification and disposal,
Fresh and reclaim water supply, and
Reagent preparation and distribution
Based on test work, gold recoveries from Gordon are expected to average 92.9% and gold
and silver recoveries from MacLellan are expected to average 91.4% and 49%, respectively.
Over the life of mine, combined gold recoveries are expected to average 92.0%.
Power to the MacLellan site, which will host all the process facilities and major infrastructure,
will be supplied from Manitoba Hydro through the commercial electricity grid. The existing
power line to the Town of Lynn Lake will be modified from 69kV to 138 kV, and a 7 km 138kV
overhead line will be built to the MacLellan site.
The G ordon site ’s electrical demands will be met by two 300 kW diesel generators in
duty/standby configuration.
The tailings management facility (“TMF”) will be constructed approximately 3 km northeast of
the planned open pit and plant site at MacLellan. Additional dam raises are planned for years
two, six and nine to accommodate the life of the mining operation. The majority of operational
water required for the process plant will be reclaimed from the TMF.
Operating Costs
Total cash costs are expected to average $645 per ounce and mine-site all-in sustaining costs
$745 per ounce, net of silver as a by-product credit over the life of mine. Total operating costs
are expected to average $36.06 per tonne of ore processed. This includes average mining
costs of $2.21 per tonne of material mined across the Gordon and MacLellan deposits and
haulage costs of $7.45 per tonne of ore from the Gordon deposit.
The breakdown of unit costs is summarized as follows.
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Operating Cost1 $/t Processed LOM $M
Mining2 $17.77 $470.5
Haulage3 $2.43 $64.5
Processing $10.84 $287.1
G&A $5.33 $141.1
Refining, Transport, Royalties and Ag Credit ($0.31) ($8.2)
TOTAL Operating Costs $36.06 $954.9
1. Operating costs exclude working capital
2. Average mining cost during the production period is $ 2.21/t mined with a strip ratio of 7.06:1 (7.28:1 including pre -
commercial production)
3. Haulage costs are reported per total tonne milled. Haulage costs per tonne of Gordon ore hauled average $7.45
Royalty
There is a third-party royalty on a portion of the production in the first two years coming from
the Gordon deposit which totals approximately $8.1 million.
Capital Costs
The initial capital cost for the Lynn Lake project is $338 million. The main components of this
include pre-production mining activities, site preparation, construction of the process plant and
tailings management facility and other onsite and offsite infrastructure. The Feasibility Study
assumes capital leasing of mobile equipment. The onsite pre-production period spans 24
months.
Camp infrastructure to accommodate the workforce will be located within the Town of Lynn
Lake and will be utilized throughout the construction and operations phases.
A breakdown of the capital requirements is detailed as follows.
Capital Cost ($ Millions)
Mining $61.3
Process Plant $72.3
Utilities and Services $17.1
Onsite Infrastructure $41.9
Offsite Infrastructure $24.5
Tailings Management $17.1
Indirects $40.9
EPCM $21.7
Owner's Cost $12.2
Contingency $28.8
Total Initial Capital $338.0
Sustaining Capital $126.6
Reclamation and Closure Costs $21.1
Total Capital $485.6
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Taxes
The Lynn Lake project will be subject to provincial, federal and mining taxes. Over the 11
year mine life, Lynn Lake is expected to pay total taxes of approximately $131 million for an
effective tax rate of approximately 32%, with no taxes payable until year four.
Additional Opportunities
Incorporating exploration success to date and ongoing potential
Alamos has a large exploration package with more than 40,000 hectares of mineral tenure in
northern Manitoba covering the majority of the Lynn Lake Greenstone Belt. This belt consists
of the Northern Agassiz Shear (55 km long) and Southern Johnson Shear (40 km long)
complexes (see Figure 1 at the end of this press release).
Since consolidating ownership of Lynn Lake in early 2016, the primary exploration focus has
been on infill drilling the main deposits (MacLellan and Gordon), re-assessment of the data,
structural and vein studies, reprocessing and re-interpretation of geophysics, mappings and
sampling and target generation. More recently, additional scout drilling programs along strike
from known deposits has also been undertaken.
The Feasibility Study has not incorporated exploration success over the past year including
newly outlined mineralization adjacent to both the Gordon and MacLellan pits. Both have the
potential to increase the mineable ounces within the mine plan. Drilling from the Burnt Timber
deposit has also yielded encouraging results.
MacLellan
Drilling to the northeast has identified a new zone of mineralization along strike and adjacent
to the MacLellan pit. This zone and the following intercepts are located outside of existing
mineral reserves and resources in the pit wall in an area defined as waste. Additional drilling
will be completed to further assess this new zone during the winter freeze when access is
possible.
Previously released highlight intercepts include:
17MCX003: 10.5 metres (“m”) at 1.49 g/t Au (71.0 – 81.5 m) and 39.0 m at 1.78 g/t Au
(89.0 - 128.0 m)
17MCX012: 18.5 m at 3.67 g/t Au (8.0 – 26.5 m)
17MCX013: 13.5 m at 2.58 g/t Au (34.0 – 47.5 m)
17MCX014: 38.0 m at 2.03 g/t Au (67.5 – 105.5 m)
17MCX019: 7.0 m at 3.57 g/t Au (148.5 – 155.5 m) and 16.0 m at 6.68 g/t Au (169.0 –
185.0 m)
Gordon
Similar to MacLellan, drilling immediately south of the Gordon mine area has identified
mineralization outside of current mineral reserves and resources, in an area in the pit wall
defined as waste. The higher grade nature of some of these intercepts including, 20.69 g/t Au
over 6.1 m (17FLX007, previously released), outline the potential for additional high-grade
mineralization. Follow up drilling and study is scheduled for the winter drilling season.
17FLX007: 2.6 m at 8.36 g/t Au (1.6 - 4.2 m), 6.1 m at 20.69 g/t Au (14.4 - 20.5 m) and
4.0 m at 5.97 g/t Au (126.5 - 130.5 m)