The new Stock mine portal (pictured above), with the nearby Stock mill in the background. Courtesy of McEwen Mining.

Toronto-headquartered McEwen Mining announced the start of construction of a new ramp system and portal at its Stock gold mine on June 5, marking a significant development within its Fox complex located in Timmins, Ontario.  

Construction of the ramp system and portal will provide the company with underground access to the mine’s three primary gold zones—West, Main and East—while enabling cost-effective underground drilling to explore potential depth extensions. Gold production is set to begin in the East zone in the second half of this year. 

The company anticipates that this new development phase will lower production costs, making it especially timely as global gold prices reach historic highs. 

“It is important to understand that the Stock mine will help us increase our near-term gold production and decrease our cost per ounce for three reasons,” said Rob McEwen, chief executive officer and owner of McEwen Mining, in a press release shared on June 5. “One, it will eliminate the onerous metal stream from prior owners on the Froome mine, which obligated us to sell eight per cent of our production at $605 per ounce; two, the Stock material is softer than that currently processed from Froome, which will enable greater mill throughput and gold output; and three, with the mill on site, we eliminate the cost of hauling material 35 kilometres from Froome.” 

The Fox complex includes three key properties: the Black Fox property—which includes the Froome mine—the Stock mine and the Lexam property. McEwen Mining acquired the past producing Stock mine and Stock mill in 2017 from Primero Mining alongside its acquisition of the Black Fox complex. During its prior operating period from 1989 to 2005, the Stock underground mine produced 137,000 ounces of gold with an average grade of 5.5 grams per tonne. 

According to a resource estimate from May 20, 2024, the Stock mine has an indicated resource of 2.8 million tonnes containing 281,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 3.12 grams per tonne, along with an inferred resource of 2.0 million tonnes containing 181,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 2.87 grams per tonne.