Project Overview
Jerritt Canyon is a producing underground gold mine wholly owned and operated by First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic") and is located in Elko County, northeastern Nevada, USA.
Jerritt Canyon was purchased by First Majestic from Sprott Mining Inc. in April 2021 for $470 million and has since invested significant capital to refurbish the operation and explore the surrounding property. The Jerritt Canyon deposit was discovered in 1972 with first gold production commencing in 1981. It has produced over 9.5 Moz Au across its 40-year history with an average grade of 6.2 g/t Au.
Gold Royalty holds a 0.5% NSR and sliding scale PTR that covers the entire 30,821-hectare property, providing exposure to the aggressive exploration work being conducted by First Majestic. Developmental work is being carried out at the facility with the objective of increasing underground and plant processing rates at the mine. To increase mine production, First Majestic is developing a secondary escapeway in the West Generator mine allowing for a major increase in ore deliveries and gold production in 2023. This new ore feed, along with the expected restart of the Saval II mine are anticipated to increase gold grades and fresh ore feed to the plant by 50%.
In August 2022, First Majestic discovered Smith Zone 10, a high-grade mineralized area located near active underground infrastructure, which is scheduled to be mined in early 2023 and enhance production at Jerritt Canyon.
With all these significant investments being made at the mine and through operational improvements, First Majestic expects to increase production in future years.