First Mining Gold and Ausenco Engineering Canada recently entered into an agreement that will see the engineering firm complete a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the Springpole gold project, in north-western Ontario, Canada.

As part of the pact, Ausenco has elected to receive shares of First Mining as consideration for its engineering services, First Mining said.

Ausenco has significant experience in the study and execution of projects similar to Springpole, according to First Mining, with substantial recent experience in eastern Canada including the feasibility study (FS) and subsequent engineering, procurement and construction execution of the Moose River Consolidated gold project for Atlantic Gold, Marathon Gold’s Valentine Lake PFS and Anaconda Mining’s Goldboro FS.

The Springpole PFS follows on the back of an updated preliminary economic assessment on the project, which outlined a 36,000 t/d mine and mill capable of producing an average of 410,000 oz/y ounces of gold in years 2-9 of the 12-year mine life.

Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining, said the agreement marks a key milestone in the project’s development and “goes hand-in-hand with our focus on de-risking Springpole and advancing the project through the environmental assessment process”.

He added: “Ausenco is one of the strongest partnerships we could have formed for this next step of development, given their proven track record, not just in delivering rigorous technical studies, but also in project delivery, construction and operations. Ausenco becoming a shareholder of First Mining demonstrates the strong belief by one of the premier mining-focused engineering firms in the technical merits and development potential of Springpole.”