Artemis Gold Blackwater EP2: Lycopodium EPCM and mill works lens for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Major works have started on Artemis Gold’s Blackwater EP2 growth project in British Columbia, with the first concrete pour for the new ball mill foundations completed ahead of schedule. Early works, initiated in January 2026, are close to completion, and engineering and procurement for EP2 are now well advanced. Lycopodium has been appointed EPCM contractor, signalling a move into full-scale construction that will affect mill layout, civils sequencing and tie-ins to the existing Blackwater processing infrastructure.
Technical Brief
- Centralised EPCM under Lycopodium should standardise design control, change management and interface management with existing Blackwater assets.
- Integration of EP2 civils with operating plant implies constrained work windows and heavy reliance on shutdown planning.
- Brownfield nature at Blackwater will drive strict blast vibration, noise and dust controls around existing infrastructure.
Our Take
Lycopodium’s role at Artemis Gold’s Blackwater operation follows its repeat appearances in our database on West African gold projects such as Fortuna Mining’s Séguéla expansion, signalling that mid-tier gold operators are leaning on the same EPCM bench for multi-phase growth pipelines.
Among recent Canada- and British Columbia-tagged project pieces, early-works programmes rarely show a defined 2026 start as at Blackwater EP2, which suggests Artemis Gold is locking in contractor capacity ahead of a potential congestion window in the province’s construction market.
Lycopodium’s growing presence across both Canadian and West African gold projects in our coverage indicates that Artemis Gold is tapping an EPCM contractor with current, large-scale gold plant delivery experience, which can de-risk schedule and process design for the EP2 growth phase even without a disclosed commodity in this article.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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