Young-Davidson Mine Canada

Home Operations Producing Mines Young-Davidson, Canada

Quick Facts

Ownership

100%

Location

Ontario, Canada

Status

Operating

Operation

Underground

Commodity

Gold

Young-Davidson is a low-cost, long-life operation and one of Canada’s largest underground gold mines. With a large Mineral Reserve base and strong ongoing free cash flow generation, Young-Davidson will serve as Alamos’ foundation for growth for many years to come.

2024 Guidance

Production

oz Au (thousands)

180-195

Total cash cost1

US$/oz

$950-1,000

Mine-Site All-in Sustaining Costs1,2

US$/oz

$1,175-1,225

1 Please refer to Cautionary Notes on non-GAAP Measures and Additional GAAP Measures.
2 For the purposes of calculating mine-site all-in sustaining costs at individual mine sites, the Company does not include an allocation of corporate and administrative and share based compensation expenses to the mine sites.
3 Please see press release issued on January 10, 2024, for three-year guidance

Mineral Reserves and Resources

as of December 31, 20231

Proven and Probable
Mineral Reserves

000 oz Au

3,261

Measured and Indicated
Mineral Resources

000 oz Au

1,127

Inferred
Mineral Resources

000 oz Au

145

1 M&I Mineral Resources exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Please see 2023 year end Mineral Reserves and Resources statement for additional detail.

Young Davidson Mine Map Larger

The Young-Davidson gold mine is located near the town of Matachewan, approximately 60 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario, within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Young-Davidson is centrally located between Timmins, Kirkland Lake, North Bay and Sudbury, Ontario – a region well-known for servicing the global mining industry.

Young-Davidson is a large, low-cost, bulk tonnage underground mine located in Northern Ontario. The Young-Davidson property consists of contiguous mineral leases and claims totaling approximately 11,700 acres. With a large Mineral Reserve base, Young-Davidson is a long-life operation with significant Mineral Resources and exploration potential to support mine life extension.

A multi-year expansion of the operation was completed in July 2020. The completion of this lower mine expansion has been driving production higher and operating costs lower through a number of productivity improvements. Combined with declining capital spending, this is expected to drive strong free cash flow growth going forward.

Gold was originally discovered at Young-Davidson in 1916 and underground production began in 1934. Over the next 23 years, one million ounces of gold were produced from the Young-Davidson and nearby MCM Mine properties. The mine lay dormant between 1957 and 2005, when Northgate Minerals merged with Young-Davidson Mines Limited and began a surface exploration program and ultimately started construction of the operation. In 2011, AuRico Gold acquired Northgate Minerals and commenced open pit mining operations at Young-Davidson. First gold was poured in April 2012 and by October 31, 2013, the underground mine achieved commercial production. AuRico Gold merged with Alamos Gold in 2015.

Young-Davidson is situated within the southwestern part (Larder Lake-Cadillac Fault Zone) of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, one of the largest greenstone belts in the world with historic production of 160 million ounces of gold. The Abitibi consists of a complex and diverse array of volcanic, sedimentary and plutonic rocks typically metamorphosed to greenschist facies grade, but locally attaining amphibolite facies grade. Volcanic rocks range in composition from rhyolitic to komatiitic and commonly occur as mafic to felsic volcanic cycles. Sedimentary rocks consist of both chemical and clastic varieties and occur as both intravolcanic sequences and as unconformably overlying sequences. A wide spectrum of mafic to felsic, pre-tectonic, syn-tectonic and post-tectonic intrusive rocks are present. All lithologies are cut by late, generally northeast-trending proterozoic diabase dikes.

Most of the gold mineralization at Young-Davidson is associated with a syenite intrusive rock. Within this syenite, gold mineralization is associated with a stockwork of quartz veinlets and narrow quartz veins, rarely greater than a few centimetres thick, that are within a broader halo of disseminated pyrite and potassic alteration. Mineralization is known to extend beyond 1,500 metres below surface and the orebody remains open at depth.

Young-Davidson has been designed and constructed as a highly productive, bulk tonnage underground mining operation supporting low-cost gold production. The underground mine is accessed via two shafts and a ramp system to a depth of 1,500 metres. The operation utilizes large modern equipment, high productivity bulk mining methods (long hole open stoping), and paste backfill. Scooptrams load, haul and transfer stope production to the ore pass system from where it is hoisted to the surface with minimal ore and waste re-handling.

A multi-year expansion of Young-Davidson was completed July 2020 with the transition to newly constructed lower mine infrastructure which is larger, highly automated and more productive. The lower mine infrastructure is designed to operate at 8,000 tonnes per day (“tpd”) and replaces the mid-mine infrastructure which was designed for 6,000 tpd. The transition to the lower mine infrastructure has been driving gold production higher and costs lower since the second half of 2020.

Ore is processed through an 8,000 tpd single stage semi-autogenous grinding circuit followed by flotation. The flotation concentrate is further ground and leached in a carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit. The flotation tailings are also leached in a CIL circuit. Gold is recovered from the carbon followed by electro-winning and pouring of doré bars. The Young-Davidson carbon-in-leach tailings are treated with the SO2/Air cyanide destruction method.

Toxics Reduction Act Public Summary Reports

Young-Davidson Virtual Site Tour