For a 400–700 m deep underground gold deposit in the Rouyn-Noranda / Abitibi Belt (Quebec) with a 1 Mtpa processing plant, the realistic total capital required to reach production is around C$500 million to C$750 million.
Startup capital typically covers:
- Underground decline development and level access
- Ventilation, pumping, electrical and underground infrastructure
- Mining fleet (jumbos, LHDs, trucks)
- 1 Mtpa processing plant (crush, grind, gravity/CIL)
- Tailings facility and paste backfill plant
- Surface buildings and mine infrastructure
- Grid power connection
- Engineering, permitting, contingency and owner’s costs
- Pre-production capital and working capital
The largest single cost component is underground development and infrastructure, not the processing plant.
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