Abcourt-Barvue

The Abcourt-Barvue property is located at Barraute, 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of the mining community of Val-d'Or, Quebec. The Abcourt-Barvue property was placed into production by Abcourt in 1985 after an expenditure of $20 M. At that time, the ore was extracted underground and hauled by trucks to Matagami, a distance of 250 km (150 miles) to be custom milled by Noranda Mines Ltd. In 1990, with falling prices for silver and an anticipated drop in the price of zinc, production was put on hold. In February 2007, a feasibility study was completed for the building of a mill and the reopening of the mine.

The preproduction capital expenditure required for the project is estimated at Can$ 67.88 M in the third quarter of 2006. The mill is designed to treat 1,800 tonnes of ore per day. Following an optimization of the open pits and underground mine design, more than 80 per cent of the ore tonnage for the first 10 years of production will be produced by open pits. In year 6 and in the following years, underground production from Avoca cut and fill stopes will be added.