Thunder Bay Based Premier Gold Mines Will Spend
$15 Million on Exploration in 2009
by Scott A. Sumner
www.thunderbaybusiness.ca
A largely attended media conference started off 2009 with a bang in the mining industry. Local company Premier Gold Mines president, Ewan Downie and Minister of Northern Development & Mines, Michael Gravelle were on hand to talk about the company’s exciting
exploration plans for the coming year here in Northwestern Ontario.
Michael Gravelle, Minister with Ewan Downie, President CEO of Premier Gold Mines
The Premier Operation is committed to $15 million in exploration for 2009 in the Geraldton, Long Lac and Red Lake regions. “This will make a huge difference in the economies of these areas. Despite the economy and commodity prices going down although gold is in good
shape, there is good reason to think the future of mining in NW Ontario is very, very positive,” smiled Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development & Mines. “ This company believes these commitments will result in gold mines which is pretty darned exciting, so what a wonderful way to start off the year. This is good news and it shows at this time there is good reason to be optimistic.”
“ At the end of 2008 there was a fairly large financial crisis going on but we were able to raise a significant amount of money and will be spending all of that money on exploration here in NW Ontario. We are seeing a lot of base metals have a lot of trouble, however gold prices are performing very well. If you look at the US exchange rate, gold is at an all time high in Canada( $1000 oz) so it is a great time to invest in gold exploration,” said Ewan Downie,
President CEO of Premier Gold Mines. “We have three major programs in NW Ontario. Our primary project will be the Hardrock project near Geraldton which we hope to bring towards mine development. In Red Lake we will be doing some exploration in partnership with Goldcorp in between the two major deposits in the region. Based on last years success we hope to have a good year as well. Junior companies like ours look to be adjacent to a large property. An old saying in mining is a new mine is in the shadow of an existing old one or head frame.”
Ewan Downie is a business administration graduate from Lakehead University but chose a mining career right from the start.“ Every summer I worked for my father who is a geologist and professional engineer in the mineral sector. I like the industry, the thrill of the chase that comes with mining although it is a rocky industry. My father tried to convince me not to make it a career given the cyclical nature of the industry at times but I think the good companies are built in the trying times, with the strongest going forward,” stated Ewan Downie, age 42 who first worked in the field with his first summer job at age14. “ Our previous company Wolfden Resources was a great success. We made a big find in Nunavik, NWT a trying place to work with little infrastructure. We made a major discovery and were taken out in 2007 by a large Australian company, now called OZ Minerals for some $360 million.They are currently having some financial problems but stillworking on the project. I was a shareholder of Wolfden so it benefited me.”
Wolfden had a gold division and base metal division and in early 2007 the company was split up. Premier became the gold asset company. The same team that ran Wolfden now runs Premier. The largest shareholders of Premier are Inmet Mining and Goldcorp and the head
office is located here in Thunder Bay at a Jade Street Office building. “ Thunder Bay for me means a lowered cost of operation much better than say Toronto and Vancouver. It allows me to enjoy a certain lifestyle that I probably couldn’t enjoy in a large city. If you are a junior company when you show up in Toronto and Vancouver like I do on a monthly basis the fund managers are willing to see you right away,” said Downie. “ Our direct employed staff now is 8 to 10 full time. Everyone else is hired by contract and our work is outsourced to contractors. The employment opportunities now are with the contractors. We are starting to staff up with geologists with a lot of skills to move the project forward and we have just hired a
mining engineer towards helping us with dewatering and building a mill if required.”
Premier Gold Mines will be a Thunder Bay based company to watch in 2009!
