Artemis Gold’s Blackwater mill cost rise: capacity, capex and schedule for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Artemis Gold has lifted the cost of its first Blackwater mill expansion in central British Columbia to C$120 million, about 20% above the original C$100–C$110 million budget, to add spares and raise nameplate capacity by one‑third to 8 million tonnes per year. The revised spend equates to roughly C$60 per tonne of added annual capacity, with civil works for a new vertical mill complete, structural steel advancing, pre‑aeration tank erected and oxygen equipment foundations poured as mechanical tie‑ins to the live plant now dictate schedule. A much larger C$1.44‑billion second expansion would add a separate 13‑million‑tonne‑per‑year plant, targeting total 21‑million‑tonne capacity and more than 500,000 oz. of gold annually from 2029, positioning Blackwater among Canada’s largest gold operations.
Technical Brief
- Civil works for the new vertical mill are complete, with structural steel erection underway.
- Pre-aeration tank is already erected and oxygen equipment foundations poured ahead of mechanical tie-ins.
- A new cyclone cluster is in transit to site, with mill components starting to arrive.
- Mechanical installation and tie-ins to the live plant now form the critical path for schedule.
- Site construction was 57% complete as of 30 June, with Q4 start-up of the expanded circuit targeted.
- First expansion overrun sits within 2026 growth capital of C$670–C$745 million, funded from operations.
- Blackwater produced 74,063 oz. in Q2, up 20% quarter-on-quarter, with H1 output at 135,986 oz.
- A failed ball mill gearbox in March caused an unplanned shutdown, but subsequent quarter delivered record output.
- 2023 commercial production totalled 192,808 oz. at an all-in sustaining cost of US$869/oz sold.
- Artemis holds C$175 million cash plus an undrawn C$700 million revolver, supporting concurrent expansion and operations.
Our Take
The March 2026 gearbox failure at Blackwater in our database underscores that Artemis Gold is managing both reliability issues and a 20% mill expansion cost overrun at the same asset, which will likely sharpen lender and board scrutiny of contingency and spares strategies for the 21 Mtpa build‑out.
Within our 1269 Mining stories, Artemis Gold appears frequently alongside other British Columbia gold operators such as Osisko Development and Centerra Gold, signalling that capital intensity and permitting risk in central B.C. are becoming a comparative lens for investors assessing large gold projects like Cariboo versus Blackwater.
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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