When Barrick shut down the fabulously rich Eskay Creek mine in 2008, they knew they were leaving ore in the ground. With gold dropping to $700 and silver at $9, the major couldn’t find the right combination of size and grade to keep mining at a scale that made sense to the world’s largest gold producer. They reclaimed the site and once they got a sign-off from the provincial government they sold it to Skeena.
Skeena, building on the ore left behind by the major, conducted some first-rate exploration to lead them to a measured and indicated resource of 3.9 million ounces of gold and 101 million ounces of silver. A prefeasibility study estimates an after tax net present value of C$1.6 billion (based on $1700 gold and $24 silver). Exploration continues to point to an expanded resource while the feasibility study is on track for quarter one next year.