Panther Metals CEO Darren Hazelwood joins StockBox to discuss a major new collaboration with Fulcrum Metals focused on tailings reprocessing at the Winston Lake project.
This strategic move could unlock over 100,000 ounces of gold from historic tailings, worth a potential $340 million. With fast-track potential to early cash flow and strong environmental benefits, this initiative marks a key step forward for Panther Metals in Ontario.
- Tailings Collaboration: Panther Metals announced a strategic collaboration with Fulcrum Metals to extract #gold from historical tailings, potentially unlocking over 100,000 ounces of gold at surface.
- Fast-Track to Cash Flow: With Fulcrum’s extraction technology and minimal need for drilling, Panther could move quickly to generate early cash flow, boosting wider development at Winston.
- Environmental and Economic Upside: The initiative supports environmental clean-up efforts in Ontario and strengthens project economics, aligning with local and Indigenous community priorities.
Past Production
The development of the Winston Lake Mine was commenced in 1986 by Inmet Mining Limited, and subsequently acquired by First Quantum Minerals Limited. Between 1988 and 1998, a reported 3.3 million tonnes (Mt) of ore was mined and processed with an average head grade of 14.6% Zn, 1.0% Cu, 32.2g/t Ag and 1.4g/t Au, producing 900 million pounds (Mlbs) or 408 thousand tonnes (kt) of zinc, 54 Mlbs (24 kt) copper, with over 1.1 Moz silver and 51,168 oz gold at reported recoveries of 93% zinc and 78% copper. The operation was finally closed in February 1999 due to a very low zinc price at the time (US$0.42/lb). 1,2
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“This collaboration is the first step in investigating a potential early source of positive cashflow for Panther at the Winston Project. The infrastructure is well maintained on the brownfield Winston Lake mine site allowing for the potential rapid evaluation and monetisation of the historical mine processing tailings.
Working with Fulcrum Metals, who are advancing mine-tailings reprocessing project elsewhere in Ontario, we intend to explore innovative ways to generate additional value and potentially extend the life of our flagship project. It’s a strong step forward in our mission to build a sustainable and profitable future for our shareholders.“
Ryan Mee, CEO of Fulcrum Metals Ltd, added:
“We’re excited to be collaborating with Panther Metals on this promising opportunity. Fulcrum brings advanced extraction and separation technology to the table through its relationship with Extrakt Process Solutions, which offers cyanide free and environmentally sensitive hydrometallurgical techniques designed to recover critical and precious metals from legacy tailings. This aligns perfectly with our focus on unlocking overlooked value and accelerating resource recovery in a responsible way.”
The collaboration envisages setting out a formal agreement for an initial phase of a partnership which would focus on technical and economic assessments of the tailings material. Subject to the results of that evaluation, Panther and Fulcrum would formalise a commercial agreement to advance a tailings pre-processing project.
