Hudbay Minerals Inc.'s Snow Lake reserve mine life extends to 2043
The Manitoba reserve plan adds two years to Snow Lake's schedule and forecasts 185,000 gold ounces a year on average through 2030.
Mara Quinlan
Hudbay Minerals Inc. TSEHBM NYSEHBM said Monday that its updated Snow Lake plan extends the Manitoba operation's proven and probable reserve mine life by two years to 2043. Its Sept. 1 reserve estimate contains about 2.0 million ounces of gold in 27 million tonnes of ore, underpinning an 18-year schedule.
Toronto and New York regular sessions had not opened when Hudbay released the plan on Monday.
The updated plan projects an average of 185,000 gold ounces a year from 2026 through 2030. It puts total life-of-mine gold production at 2.8 million ounces. The five-year average spans a longer period than the three-year average of 190,000 ounces Hudbay forecast on March 27.
Hudbay's Snow Lake complex includes the Lalor mine, New Britannia gold mill and Stall base metals concentrator. The reserve schedule also includes satellite deposits, while the 1901 deposit is moving toward full production in late 2027.
Against Jan. 1, Snow Lake reserves grew by 7.5 million tonnes and 124,000 contained gold ounces, according to the Sept. 28 release. The additions came from reserve conversion at Lalor and 1901, higher estimates at WIM and 3 Zone, and first reserve estimates for Talbot and Rail.
In March, Hudbay had extended Snow Lake's expected mine life by four years to 2041. Monday's addition brings the combined extension announced this year to six years, with the schedule now running to 2043. The company said its production plan rests on proven and probable reserves rather than on further conversion of resources.
The revised life-of-mine gold total is 60 per cent above the 1.8 million ounces in Hudbay's 2021 technical report. For 2026 through 2030, the company forecasts average gold cash costs of US$821 an ounce and average sustaining cash costs of US$1,379 an ounce.
Hudbay separately estimated 21 million tonnes of mineral resources containing 1.5 million ounces of gold as of Sept. 1. Their tonnage is up 26 per cent from Jan. 1. The company identified further conversion at Lalor and exploration at 1901 as potential sources of additional mine life, beyond the current reserve schedule.
"We have delivered on the strategy of targeting more than 180,000 ounces of annual gold production and we are well-positioned to continue to deliver that profile well into the next decade," chief operating officer Robert Carter said in the release.
The former New Britannia mine remains on care and maintenance. Hudbay called its Britannia Gold Project a possible new anchor deposit that could add gold production, but the 2043 mine life is based on reserves already estimated. At Stall, a hot-tailings project is underway, with commissioning expected in early 2028 and higher gold and silver recoveries anticipated afterward.
Full production at the 1901 deposit is expected in late 2027.
