Golden opportunity – What record prices mean for our Big Four projects in Ontario

What a couple of weeks.

Since I last wrote to you, we’ve seen the price of gold advance and ultimately hit fresh record highs.

It’s always a good sign for our sector, where so much emphasis is placed on precious metals.

But it’s particularly exciting for First Class Metals.

After all, though we remain highly excited about Zigzag’s growing lithium and critical metal potential…

Our three other “Big Four” flagship projects are all highly prospective for gold.

Given the positive sentiment looks to be more than a flash in the pan, I thought I’d quickly recap where we’re things stand…

Market momentum
Gold hit a record US$2,195 an ounce last Friday following days of positive movement.

It has pared gains slightly since, currently sitting at around US$2,158 an ounce in response to hot US inflation data.

The good news, though, is the consensus view is for longer-term precious metal headwinds to remain in place.

The headline is heightened demand for safe haven assets the world over amid expectations of US interest rate cuts.

But the largest and most sustained buying of all is coming from China, which analysts are putting down to consumers seeking safety as local property and stock markets tumble.

Physical exports of gold to the world’s second-largest economy from Switzerland nearly trebled in January alone.

Put everything together, and J.P. Morgan Research predicts that gold prices could reach US$2,300 an ounce by 2025.

Perfect timing
Positive gold price momentum is great for gold explorers.

It’s even greater for gold explorers targeting discoveries in pro-mining jurisdictions.

This is stating the obvious.

But it’s worth emphasising because it is exactly why we’re so pleased with recent macro movements.

It means the value of any gold discoveries we make at our North Hemlo, Sunbeam, and Esa projects in Ontario stands to increase.

And right now, we’re seeing more evidence of discovery potential with every round of exploration we complete.

To recap…

• We plan to begin stripping at North Hemlo’s Dead Otter trend in the coming field season so we can properly appraise a structure where we’ve encountered elevated gold showings along with very high values of pathfinder elements (minerals often found alongside gold that can be indicative of a large mineralised system). We will also conduct stripping at an area where we have encountered gold grades of up to 19.6g/t.

• At Sunbeam, we’ve confirmed two potential types of gold mineralisation – high grade in quartz veins and bulk mineable in porphyries – and are targeting multiple, substantial gold discoveries. We’re also exploring the upside presented by a historic high-grade mine at the project that was left untouched for more than a century.

• And at Esa, we’ve identified a 4.5km shear zone crossing the property where very high values of pathfinder minerals associated with gold deposits in the region could indicate an extensive gold system. We’re currently awaiting soil sampling results, which will inform discovery drilling.

First Class Metals’ project portfolio

Pushing forward
Clearly, we’re taking steps towards gold discoveries at all three of these flagship gold projects.

And now all three are drill ready with permits in place, we’re free to really start pushing forward.

In this sense, the current strength of the gold market is timed perfectly.

With all this in mind, the road forward looks more exciting than ever.