Fuerte Metals (TSX-V:FMT) has positioned itself as Canada’s next gold producer after conducting a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of the Coffee Gold Project in Yukon.
The PEA contemplates an open-pit heap-leach mine with an initial mine life of 13 years. The PEA mine plan estimates an internal rate of return of 47.8% and an after-tax net present value of US$2.3 billion ($3.24 billion).
Coffee is expected to produce 249,000 saleable gold ounces per year on average for the first full five years of production and an average 217,000 saleable ounces per year over the life of mine at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,274 per ounce.
CEO Tim Warman says the company will move ahead with an aggressive timeline and early works program in 2026, including construction of the remaining portions of the access road from Dawson to the Coffee Project, which is anticipated on starting ounce road-related permits are received during the Canadian spring.
“We expect to obtain the key remaining mine licences by year-end, which would pave the way for a construction decision for the project in early 2027,” Warman says.
Fuerte Metals notes that the production profile includes inferred resources. Approximately 16% of the ounces mined in the PEA profile area in the inferred category, which cannot be included in the Feasibility Study scheduled for Q4 2026.
To upgrade a portion of these inferred ounces to indicated, the company will conduct an infill drill program this current quarter. Up to 40,000m of drilling will be conducted with the aim to upgrade the confidence level of the existing resources, as well as test new targets.
Coffee has a resource containing 3 million tonnes in the measured and indicated categories within 80 million tonnes @ 1.15 grams per tonne. The project sits within the Yukon-Tanana Terrane and within the wider Tintina Gold Province which hosts numerous multi-million ounce deposits.
Fuerte Metals is a Canadian explorer and developer focused on advancing high-potential precious metals and base metals projects across the Americas.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Fuerte Metals
