Osisko is planning to re-vive the Barkerville Gold Mine

The next new gold mines in British Columbia could go into production as early as 2022, with the promise of the historic Barkerville region in B.C. to breathe life again. Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (TSX, NYSE: OR) completed a reverse acquisition of shell company Barolo Ventures Corp. earlier this month. (TSX-V: BVC.H) to create Osisko Development, which will develop the Cariboo Gold Project.

This is the large gold property compiled by Barkerville Gold Mines (BGM) that Osisko Royalties acquired in November 2019. The new company has also received the San Antonio gold project in Mexico for development. With the spinout, Osisko Royalties will remain as a pure gold royalty and streaming company with a majority stake in the mines owned by Osisko Development. The new company was announced the same day Osisko released drill results confirming high gold grades for the Cariboo Gold Project, which is not so much a single gold mine as it is a district with multiple potential mines.

"The mineralized trend we have mapped is 83 kilometers in length and consists of two sections running parallel to each other," Sean Roosen, CEO of Osisko Royalties, told BIV. The latest drill results confirm high gold grades in several zones, particularly Cow Mountain. Mickey Fulp, editor of the mercenary geologist, said the drill results published last week were "same age, same age" - meaning "fabulous". "It's not really new that they have been doing this for more than three years," said Fulp.

"These drill results may have been a nice little opportunity to show once again how good the project is. "This Cariboo Gold project has six million ounces of gold and it is growing. In my opinion this is the best project in Canada, without a doubt. This is Canada's next major gold belt, and it is definitely BC's next mine as far as gold is concerned so there is nothing else on the horizon in BC that will be profitable in the near future". Osisko is in the approval phase for an underground mine with a capacity of 4,750 tons per day, with a feasibility study expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. The company expects its Bonanza Ledge mine near Wells, B.C., to go into production in the first quarter of 2021. For Cow Mountain, it assumes that full permits will be available in 2022, "followed by a short construction period given the extensive infrastructure already available on site".

The infrastructure includes a functioning mill that was operated in 2018 during the bulk sampling. The cost of capital on the project is estimated at approximately C $ 458 million, of which approximately C $ 70 million has already been spent. The project will employ approximately 1,500 workers during construction and 500 to 600 miners once the two mines are up and running. Osisko's track record includes building Canadian Malartic in Quebec, the country's largest open-pit gold mine.

"If their leadership proves correct, they will go into production next year at Bonanza Ledge," said Fulp. "And in two years they will go into production at Cow Mountain." Osisko also announced on October 13 that it had entered into an agreement with Lhtako Dene Nation (LDN) for the provision of jobs, training and contract opportunities. "This agreement confirms our relationship with BGM to ensure that we will work together to create meaningful education, employment and business opportunities for the people of the LDN," Chief Cliff Lebrun said in a press release. "It also contains financial provisions that will enable the LDN to participate in the opportunities that the project offers.