Back Forty Project
A 100%-owned, gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) project in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, a combined open-pit and underground operation with a definitive feasibility study underway.
A large-scale North American VMS project
Back Forty is a 100%-owned, gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit on a 1,304-hectare land package in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The mine plan contemplates two open pits and an underground mine feeding a 2,500-tonne-per-day processing plant. Acquired through the purchase of Aquila Resources in 2021, after more than US$95M of prior exploration, the project has a definitive feasibility study underway and offers North American optionality and diversification.
14.5 million tonnes of polymetallic mineralization
A combined Measured, Indicated & Inferred resource of 14.5 Mt carrying gold, silver, copper and zinc.
14.5 Mt at 2.21 g/t Au, 27 g/t Ag, 0.38% Cu and 3.35% Zn (Measured + Indicated + Inferred). Mineral resource estimates prepared under S-K 1300 (effective September 30, 2023); mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Compelling project economics
Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results show after-tax NPV and IRR strengthening sharply with the gold price, from the base case to spot and consensus pricing.
Source: Preliminary Economic Assessment (S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary) on the Back Forty Mine Project, effective September 20, 2023. Base-case metal prices US$1,800/oz Au, US$23.30/oz Ag, US$3.90/lb Cu, US$1.25/lb Zn. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves; there is no certainty the PEA results will be realized.
An extensive, gold-rich VMS system
Back Forty is advancing through a definitive feasibility study and permitting toward a development decision.
The mine plan contemplates two open pits and an underground mine feeding a 2,500 tpd plant, producing gold-rich concentrate alongside silver, copper and zinc credits, a genuine polymetallic operation.
A precious-metals stream with Osisko Gold Royalties (18.5% gold, 85% silver) provides development funding flexibility, and a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Sackett v. EPA) is expected to streamline the wetland-permitting pathway.
What is ESTMA?
The Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA) was enacted in Canada on December 16, 2014, and came into effect on June 1, 2015. The legislation is designed to increase transparency and deter corruption in the extractive sector by requiring companies engaged in the commercial development of oil, gas, or minerals that are listed on a Canadian stock exchange to publicly disclose, on an annual basis, specific payments made to governments.
As the Back Forty Project was acquired through the purchase of Aquila Resources Inc. in 2021, reporting entities are required to report payments of C$100,000 or more, made to any level of government (municipal through federal) in Canada or abroad, in connection with the commercial development of minerals.
Payment Categories Covered
- Taxes (excluding consumption taxes and personal income taxes)
- Royalties
- Fees (rental, entry, regulatory, licence, and other fees)
- Production entitlements
- Bonuses (signature, discovery, and production bonuses)
- Dividends (other than dividends paid as ordinary shareholders)
- Infrastructure improvement payments
Download ESTMA Reports
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North American growth optionality
Explore the rest of the portfolio and the full investment case.