Abcourt drills 6,467 m at Sleeping Giant in Q1 2025

The most recent news, "Abcourt Reports First Quarter Operations Update for the Sleeping Giant Mine Development" (October 14, 2025), provides an update on operations for the first quarter of development, covering mid-August to the end of September.

Key operational highlights for Q1 2025 (July 1 to September 30, 2025): * Mill Operations: Processing began mid-August, with the circuit filling from mid-August to the end of September. The long-term recovery goal is 95%. The first dore bar was successfully poured before the quarter end. * Underground Operations: Drift development and rehabilitation commenced in July to access planned production stopes. The first stope began production in August, and the plan for the next 12 months is to produce from three stopes. Material during the quarter was sourced from development areas, remnant areas, and the first stope. * Surface Operations: Phase 1 of the sleep camp kitchen was built and commissioned on September 2nd. Civil construction work on the tailing facility was conducted in preparation for winter, with the next lift in Cell 2A planned for Summer 2026. * Q1 Metrics: * Diamond drilling: 6,467 meters * Underground rehabilitation: 1,703 meters * Underground development: 71.1 meters * Tonnes milled: 3,511 tonnes * Mill head grade: 5.88 g/t Au * Ounces milled: 664 ounces * Recovery: 94.9% * Ounces produced: 630 ounces * Ounces sold: 26 ounces * Gold inventory in circuit at quarter-end: 604 ounces

The CEO, Pascal Hamelin, expressed pride in the accomplishments during the first three months of the development phase, highlighting the immediate start after Nebari funding, underground development, mill processing, and the first dore bar pour. The stated goal is to continue the ramp-up towards full commercial production.

This Q1 2025 operations update is crucial as it provides the first detailed metrics of Abcourt's restart of the Sleeping Giant mine since securing significant financing. The report confirms that the company has achieved several key milestones in its ramp-up plan: the mill is operational, underground development is progressing, and a first dore bar has been poured. The reported gold recovery rate of 94.9% is excellent and aligns with the company's long-term goal of 95%, which is a significant positive for future profitability if sustained.

However, a critical assessment reveals several points of concern: 1. Head Grade: The reported mill head grade of 5.88 g/t Au is notably lower than previous indications. In the Q2 2024 operations update (July 10, 2024), the Sleeping Giant mill was reportedly processing material from existing stopes at a feed grade of 7.4 g/t Au. More importantly, the 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the 106-785N-E340 stope, a key target for early production, indicated an average grade of 13.8 g/t Au (October 2, 2024 news). A sustained lower head grade could materially impact the economic viability outlined in the PEA and delay achieving profitability. 2. Gold Sales vs. Production: While 630 ounces were produced, only 26 ounces were sold in the quarter, with 604 ounces remaining as inventory in the circuit. This low sales volume indicates that the operation is still very much in its commissioning and ramp-up phase, with minimal immediate revenue generation. While building inventory in the circuit is normal during start-up, the significant gap highlights the nascent stage of commercial production. 3. Ramp-up Timeline: The PEA indicated a 1.5-year pre-production period. This Q1 operations update confirms the beginning of this ramp-up phase, suggesting that full commercial production is still several quarters away. The initial tonnage milled (3,511 tonnes) is also low when compared to the PEA's target of 350 tonnes per day (approximately 31,500 tonnes over a 90-day quarter at 350 tpd operating 7 days a week). 4. Capital Needs: Despite substantial debt financing from Nebari ($12M USD) and Investissement Quebec ($5.8M CAD), and multiple private placements, the company continues to highlight the need to "continue ramp-up toward full commercial production status." This suggests ongoing capital expenditures and operational cash burn as production scales. The existing negative working capital of -$2.17 million (as of March 31, 2025) underscores this financial pressure.

Given the mixed results, particularly the lower head grade compared to expectations and prior reporting, and the very early stage of revenue-generating sales despite operational progress, the news is not a strong positive, nor is it overtly negative given that it's an initial ramp-up. It confirms the execution of the plan but raises flags regarding the quality of initial feed. Therefore, the material impact is assessed as "Non-Material - Neutral" but with a cautious outlook due to the head grade.

Abcourt Mines Inc. is a Canadian junior mining company based in Quebec, primarily engaged in gold exploration, development, and mining. The company's strategy revolves around developing economical gold resources within a 100-kilometer radius of its wholly-owned Sleeping Giant mill.

Flagship Project: Sleeping Giant Mine and Mill Development * Location: Eeyou Istchee region of Quebec, within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. * History: The mine previously operated from 1987 to 2014, processing 3.37 million tonnes at 10.29 g/t Au, producing over 1 million ounces of gold. The mill has a capacity of 700-750 tpd. * Restart Strategy: Following an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in December 2022 and a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in June 2023, Abcourt embarked on a strategy to restart the mine. The PEA projected a post-tax NPV of $54.4 million and an IRR of 33% at a gold price of US$1,650/oz, utilizing 50% of the mill's capacity (350 tpd). The plan involved a 1.5-year pre-production period for rehabilitation, development, and infrastructure upgrades (totaling $10.9 million for tailings, $6.4 million for electrical, $4.6 million for camp, and $6.7 million for equipment reconditioning). * Recent Progress: * Mill Restart: The Sleeping Giant mill restarted operations in November 2023, initially processing a 5,000-tonne bulk sample from the Pershing-Manitou deposit. * Gold Production: The first dore bar was poured in April 2024 (from Pershing-Manitou), and gold pours from the Sleeping Giant project began in May 2024. In Q2 2024 (ended June 30), 327.6 ounces of gold were produced from 1,428 tonnes at 7.4 g/t Au from Sleeping Giant material, with a high recovery of 95.9%. * Underground Development: Underground drilling and rehabilitation efforts have been ongoing, with a focus on defining and converting resources in zones like DAC 5 and 785N. The Q1 2025 operations report indicates that drift development and production from the first stope began in July/August 2025. * Operational Q1 2025 (July-Sept 2025): The company reported milling 3,511 tonnes at a head grade of 5.88 g/t Au, producing 630 ounces, with 94.9% recovery. Only 26 ounces were sold in the quarter, with 604 ounces remaining in inventory. * Other Properties: Abcourt also holds the Flordin and Discovery gold exploration properties (both with MREs published in 2023) and the Abcourt-Barvue zinc-silver project (with a 2014 MRE of 8 million tonnes at 3% zinc and 55 g/t silver).