Hudbay Minerals extended the mine life of its Snow Lake operations by two years and raised its life-of-mine gold production target by more than half.
The miner on Monday said the updated plan projects average gold output at 185,000 ounces at an all-in-sustaining cost of $1,379 an ounce through 2030 for the Manitoba project. For Snow Lake, the company now has a gold reserve of 2 million ounces, a 38% increase in tonnage from previous estimates.
The updated technical plan adds 250,000 ounces of gold to its five-year production profile at its Snow Lake complex.
Total life-of-mine gold production is now expected to reach 2.8 million ounces, representing a 60% increase over the 1.8 million ounces outlined in the project's 2021 technical report. The updated schedule extends Snow Lake's reserved-back operations through 2043, adding a total of six years to its mine life following a four-year extension announced earlier in the year.
"The strong margins and steady gold production will ensure Snow Lake continues to be a meaningful free cash flow contributor and provide complementary gold exposure for Hudbay," said Chief Executive Peter Kukielski.