The gold market is once again heating up as the US dollar weakens and crude oil prices solidify. Global stock markets have weakened in recent weeks and key markets are experiencing high inflation, signaling that market lows could continue into the year. Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell gave testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on February 23, noting that “economic recovery remains uneven and far from complete, and the path ahead is highly uncertain.” This uncertainty may signal a big few months for the gold industry as companies like Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) (AMEX:FURY), Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSX:ABX), Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (TSX:NGT), AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) (ASX: AGG), and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE:AEM) (TSX:AEM) expand and ramp up exploration and production at key gold properties.
Fury Gold Mines Advances Key Assets
Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) (AMEX:FURY) is setting up for a huge year of exploration at its three Canadian gold assets. The company owns properties in three of Canada’s most prolific mining regions, with the company’s flagship Eau Claire project located in the James Bay Gold Camp in Northern Quebec, as well as its 7,500-hectare Homestake Ridge project in Northwest British Columbia and Committee Bay gold project in Nunavut.
On February 10, Fury outlined the company’s first regional exploration target at the Eau Claire project. The company plans to explore the project’s Percival Trend this summer, which was discovered in 2018 with drill intercepts of 78.5 meters of 1.46 g/t gold and 87m of 2.35 g/t gold from surface. Throughout 2021, Fury plans to conduct an extensive biogeochemistry program across the Eau Claire property with the goal of developing new drill targets.
“Over the past six months our technical team has identified considerable opportunities to increase ounces at Eau Claire and expand upon past discoveries throughout the land position,” Fury Gold Mines SVP, Exploration, Michael Henrichsen said in the company’s release. “At Percival we have significantly advanced the detection of surface mineralization under till cover using biogeochemistry. This opens up the entire property for new target development as we plan to explore the Percival, Serendipity and North Structure trends this summer,” he continued.
Fury announced the company’s 2021 exploration plans for the Committee Bay gold project on February 17. The company will be drilling between 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the property over the course of the summer, with a focus on Committee Bay’s underexplored Raven high-grade vein target, which the company says has the potential for a significant discovery. The Raven prospect contains nine historical drill holes totaling 1,670 meters with intercepts of 5.49 meters of 12.6 g/t gold, 2.84 meters of 31.1 g/t gold, and 5.38 meters of 2.99 g/t gold over a drilled strike length of 400 meters.
“Shareholders are uniquely positioned in Nunavut with the Committee Bay project, which is considered to be one of the largest unexplored greenstone belts remaining in North America. We will be initiating Fury’s first drill program at the project with a robust initial resource, several mature high grade exploration targets and an experienced team with the skill sets to deliver on our growth plans,” commented Mike Timmins, President and CEO of Fury.
Major Gold Companies Gear Up for a Big Year
On February 10, Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) (TSX:NGT) reported the company’s latest mineral reserves, noting that it has managed to replace 80% of 2020’s reserve depletion. Newmont’s recently acquired Eleonore Mine, located 57 kilometers away from Fury Gold Mines’ Eau Claire Project, replaced depletion with reserves of 1.3 million gold ounces.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE:AEM) (TSX:AEM) announced on February 15 plans to bring employees back to work at its Meadowbank mine complex in Nunavut. Employees at the complex were sent home in March last year due to the ongoing pandemic, but vaccine optimism has the company looking to bring the project back to full operation. Located 180 kilometers southwest of Fury’s Committee Bay gold project, Meadowbank contains gold reserves of 3,318,000 ounces and saw 158,208 ounces of production in 2019.
Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) (TSX:ABX) reported its 2020 year-end financial results on February 18. The company noted that while the pandemic had an impact on the bottom line, the company managed to continue advancing major capital projects. These included the Pueblo Viejo plant expansion, the development of the underground mine at Gounkoto, the transition to a new heap leach phase at Veladero, and the re-establishment of the Bulyanhulu mine. The company says that the Bulyanhulu mine is set to be in full production by the second half of 2021.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) (ASX: AGG) announced on February 22 that the company has added 6 million ounces of new ore reserve on a gross basis and has planned out a return to growth in the coming years. AngloGold says that it aims to grow its annual production from last year’s 3.05 million ounces to between 3.2 million ounces and 3.6 million ounces by 2025.
Economic uncertainty in the coming months has set up the gold industry for a big year, and companies like Fury Gold Mines are looking to take advantage.
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