Growing gold production in one of the world’s most prolific gold camps.
Overview
The Porcupine Operations of Discovery cover approximately 1,400 km2 in and near Timmins, Ontario, with the Timmins Camp being one of the world’s most prolific gold mining camps. Production from the Porcupine Operations commenced in 1910 and, since that time, Porcupine has accounted for close to 70 million ounces of gold production.
Porcupine consists of the Hoyle Pond, Pamour and Hollinger mine properties, the Dome mine property and milling facility (collectively “Dome”), and numerous near-mine and regional exploration targets in and around Timmins, Ontario. The Complex also includes the Borden mining operation and large, highly prolific land position near Chapleau, Ontario. All mineralization from the operating mines is treated at Dome, including mineralization from Borden, which is trucked 190 km to the Dome plant.
Production
Current production comes from the Hoyle Pond and Borden underground mines, with initial production from the Pamour open-pit project expected in mid-2025. The Hollinger open-pit project commenced operation in 2015 with production being suspended in mid-2024. Mining at Dome ended in 2017, with a large base of remaining Mineral Resources supporting a potential resumption of operations.
Production in 2024 totaled 282,000 ounces, which resulted from processing 2.90 M tonnes at an average grade of 3.26 g/t and average recoveries of 92.9X% at the Dome Mill. Of the 282,000 ounces of production, 130,000 ounces was from Borden, where a total of 666k tonnes was processed at an average grade of 6.54 g/t. Production at Hoyle Pond, one of North America’s highest-grade gold mines, totaled 73,000 ounces and resulted from processing 222k tonnes at a grade of 10.8 g/t. An additional 79,000 ounces was produced at the Hollinger open pit (2.01M tonnes at an average grade of 1.35 g/t) in 2024 prior to mining operations being concluded.
Exploration
Significant exploration potential exists at all sites, with Hoyle Pond, Borden, Pamour, Hollinger and Dome all possessing large bases of Mineral Resources, and multiple known targets to support additional growth going forward. In addition, extensive regional exploration potential also exists, with the Porcupine land position comprising a total of 140,000 hectares, including approximately 40,000 hectares centered around the renowned Porcupine-Destor Fault Zone (“PDFZ”) in Timmins and over 100,000 hectares around the Borden mine, where there has been limited past drilling outside the existing production zones.
The Hoyle Pond deposit remains open at the XMS Zone, the S-vein upward and down-plunge extensions and, the NMV2 Zone near the 1350 level of the mine. In addition, the large TVZ zone, located adjacent to Hoyle Pond, represents an important potential new source of production. The Pamour deposit remains open at depth and along strike of the old underground workings. There is also an opportunity to extend mineralization to the north of the current resource model. In addition, the Pamour West zone remains open at depth and there is the potential for additional mineralization between the Pamour open pit and Pamour West. Extensive exploration upside exists at Dome, where there is a large base of Inferred Mineral Resources amenable to open-pit mining and an opportunity to establish new Mineral Resources amenable to underground mining methods. The Borden deposit remains open at depth and along strike to the east and west.
On a regional level, areas around previously producing sites also provide numerous opportunities for additional exploration. These include at depth and along strike of the Hollinger–McIntyre trend, Broulan, Coniaurum, Owl Creek Deep, and the Paymaster zones. In the Borden area, the zone west of the Borden ramp at Borden West and the B Roswell East and West zones show prospectivity.
