Freeman Appoints Ausenco to Lead Lehmi GOLD Project Feasibility Study
FREEMAN APPOINTS AUSENCO TO LEAD
LEHMI GOLD PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY
VANCOUVER, BC
,
Feb. 10, 2025
/CNW/ - Freeman Gold Corp. (TSXV: FMAN) (OTCQB: FMANF)
(FSE: 3WU) ("
Freeman
" or the "
Company
") is pleased to announce the appointment of Ausenco
Engineering Canada ULC ("
Ausenco
") to lead the Lemhi Gold Project Feasibility Study (the "
FS
"),
following a competitive bidding process.
The Lemhi Gold Project (the "
Project
" or "
Property
") is comprised of 10 patented mining claims
(placer and lode), one patented mill site claim, and 332 unpatented mining claims, totalling 2,727
hectares of mineral rights and 249 hectares of surface rights. Freeman controls a 100% interest in
all 11 patented claims and all 332 unpatented mining claims outright or through its wholly-owned
subsidiary company. The project is located in
Lemhi County, Idaho
(ID),
USA
.
The FS will build upon the Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "
2023 PEA
"), also completed by
Ausenco. The 2023 PEA outlined a high-grade, low-cost, open pit operation with an average annual
production of 80,100 ounces ("
oz
") of gold ("
Au
") in the first eight years. The production strategy
outlined in the 2023 PEA consists of a phased development with an increase in throughput during the
fifth year of operation, with a flowsheet utilizing a carbon-in-leach ("
CIL
") processing facility. The
objective of the study has been to maximize the value of
Lemhi
, while minimizing the footprint and
environmental impact.
Lemhi
2023 PEA Highlights:
After-tax Net Present Value ("
NPV
") (5 percent "
%
") of
US$212.4 million
and IRR of 22.8%
using a base case gold price of
US$1,750
/oz.
Average annual gold production of 75,900 oz Au for a total life-of-mine ("
LOM
") 11.2 years
payable output of 851,900 oz Au.
LOM cash costs of
US$809
/oz Au and all-in sustaining cash costs of
US$957
/oz Au.
Initial CAPEX of
US$190 million
.
Average gold recovery of 96.7%.
High average mill head grade of 0.88 g/t Au.
Average annual gold production of 80,100 oz Au in the first eight years of production.
Average mill throughput of 2.5 Mt/a (6.8 kt/d), increasing to 3.0 Mt/a (8.2 kt/d) after four years
of operation.
The planned FS will be based on the 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate (the "
MRE
"). The underlying
database contains a total of 506 drill holes with collar information, and assays covering
91,747m
of
drilling with 64,299 drill hole sample intervals. The sample database contains a total of 62,670
samples assayed for gold. The 2023 Lemhi MRE utilized 442 drill holes that intersected the
estimation domains of which 284 drill holes were completed between 1983 and 1995, and 158 drill
holes were completed between 2012 and 2022. Inside the mineralized domains, there is a total of
16,234 samples analyzed for gold. Standard statistical treatments were conducted on the raw and
composite samples resulting in a capping limit of 17.3 g/t gold (Au) applied to the composites
Au Cutoff (g/t)
Zone
Open Pit (OP) / Underground (UG)
Metric Tonnes
Contained Ounces
Grade Au (g/t)
Category
0.35
Lemhi & Beauty
OP
4,469,000
168,800
1.15
Measured
0.35
Lemhi & Beauty
OP
25,553,000
819,300
0.98
Indicated
0.35
Lemhi & Beauty
OP
30,022,000
988,100
1.0
M&I
0.35
Lemhi & Beauty
OP
7,338,000
234,700
1.01
Inferred
1.5
Lemhi
UG
296,000
21,300
2.27
Inferred
0.35/1.5
Lemhi & Beauty
Combined
30,022,000
988,100
1.0
M&I
0.35/1.5
Lemhi & Beauty
Combined
7,634,000
256,000
1.04
Inferred
Notes:
1.
The constraining pit optimization parameters assumed US$1,750/oz Au sale price, NSR Royalty of 1%, US$2.10/t mineralized and US$2.00/t waste material mining cost, 50° pit
slopes, a VAT process cost of US$8.00/t, HL process cost of US$2.40/t and a general and administration (G&A) cost of US$2.00/t.
2.
The effective date of the MRE is March 15, 2023.
3.
See "Lemhi Gold Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment – Effective Date October 13, 2023" (
https://freemangoldcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Preliminary-Economic-Assessment_24.08.15.pdf
) for additional information.
The MRE is classified according to the CIM "Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
Best Practice Guidelines" (
November 29, 2019
) and CIM "Definition Standards for Mineral
Resources and Mineral Reserves" (
May 10, 2014
).
Ausenco is a leading global engineering and consulting firm with significant experience in
North
America
.
The firm has a wealth of experience and is already familiar with the Lemhi Gold Project having led
the 2023 PEA and associated trade-off studies for the Project. Ausenco will lead the FS engineering
workstreams as well as serve as lead author for the planned National Instrument 43-101 ("
NI 43-
101
") technical report with its professionals acting as Qualified Persons for core chapters.
As part of the FS process, Ausenco will also lead the geotechnical and metallurgical test work
programs recommended in the 2023 PEA.
Recent strength in precious metals prices have positively impacted economic metrics of the project
given its strong leverage to the price of gold.
"Using the current spot gold price, Lehmi would have a US
$1,900
/oz cash margin at the production
schedule and all-in sustaining cost envisioned in the 2023 PEA", commented Bassam Moubarak, the
Company's Chief Executive Officer. "This initial Feasibility Study should quantify the positive
economic impact of gold moving from the
$1,750
/oz 2023 PEA price to the nearly
$2,850
/oz spot
price. Additionally, the study will provide a clear roadmap through permitting to a construction
decision. Ausenco aims to optimize project capital and operating costs, maximize value, and ensure
the project concept is financeable and executable in the current market. These together present a
fantastic opportunity for current and new shareholders to benefit from the new gold price
environment."
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by
Dean
Besserer
, P. Geo., the VP Exploration for the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-
101.
The technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment" is
available on SEDAR+ and the Company's website.
About the Company and Project
Freeman Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the development of its 100%
owned Lemhi Gold property (the "
Project
"). The Project comprises 30 square kilometres of highly
prospective land, hosting a near-surface oxide gold resource. The pit constrained NI 43-101
compliant mineral resource estimate is comprised of 988,100 oz gold ("
Au
") at 1.0 grams per tonne
("
g/t
") in 30.02 million tonnes (Measured & Indicated) and 256,000 oz Au at 1.04 g/t Au in 7.63
million tonnes (Inferred). The Company is focused on growing and advancing the Project towards a
production decision.
The completed PEA shows: an after-tax NPV (5%) of
US$212.4 million
and IRR of 22.8% using a
base case gold price of
US$1,750
/oz; Average annual gold production of 75,900 oz Au for a total
LOM 11.2 years payable output of 851,900 oz Au; LOM cash costs of
US$809
/oz Au; and, all-in
sustaining cash costs of
US$957
/oz Au using an initial CAPEX of
US$190 million
.
On Behalf of the Company
Bassam Moubarak
Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains "forward
looking information or
statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited
to statements relating to completion of a feasibility study on the Project and the results therefrom,
exploration, results therefrom, and the Company's future business plans. All statements in this
release, other than statements of historical facts that address events or developments that the
Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words
"expects," "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar
expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although
the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based
on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual
results may differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information
reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties,
and assumptions. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through
the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval
Plus (SEDAR+) at
www.sedarplus.com
for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and
their potential effects. The Company does not undertake to update forward
looking statements or
forward
looking information, except as required by law.
SOURCE
Freeman Gold Corp.
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For further information:
For further information, please visit the Company's website at
www.freemangoldcorp.com or contact Mr. Bassam Moubarak at by email at
CO: Freeman Gold Corp.
CNW 07:30e 10-FEB-25