Troilus Mining: Hydro Power Secured, Fast-Track Permitting, and a $1.2 Billion Financing Taking Shape

Troilus Mining Corp (TSX: TLG) has spent eight years drilling out its copper-gold project in north-central Quebec — more than 400,000 meters of drilling for a 13-million-ounce-plus gold-equivalent resource that CEO Justin Reed calls one of the largest and fastest-growing in Canada. In this interview, he argues the project has now cleared most of the hurdles between study and construction, with power, permitting momentum and a $1.2 billion debt package all advancing at once.

## Engineering is in its final stage

Basic engineering is complete and detailed engineering — the last phase before construction — is underway, with more than 100,000 man-hours logged. Reed says 75 engineers from the company's owners team and BBA in Montreal are assembling a full execution plan. That work will replace the feasibility study's plus-or-minus 35% capital estimate with real procurement numbers.

The 2024 feasibility outlined a 22-year mine life processing 200,000 tons of rock a day, producing on average about 300,000 gold-equivalent ounces (gold plus other metals expressed in gold terms) per year, at just over $1 billion of capital cost. AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost — what it really costs to produce an ounce) sits around $1,200 an ounce, which Reed describes as in line with the industry average. About 30% of the gold exits in an on-site gravity circuit as doré (a semi-refined gold-silver alloy), with the rest shipped as a copper-gold-silver concentrate that is roughly 20% copper — a mix that qualifies Troilus as a critical-minerals producer and opens government support programs. A revised 43-101 (the formal technical report summarizing reserves and economics) is due in September, and Reed expects no major variances from the feasibility.

## Why the power deal matters most

Reed calls the 70-megawatt hydroelectric allocation from Hydro-Québec possibly the project's biggest milestone. The allocation — 100% hydro power at 3.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, with Troilus as the sole user of the line — removes the need for large diesel generators and, in his words, “checked one of the final boxes for our lenders.” He is direct about the dependency: no power, no mine. Quebec's economy and natural resources ministers attended the announcement, which he reads as a signal of government commitment to getting the mine built.

## Permitting: first into Quebec's Filon fast-track

Troilus submitted its ESIA (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment — the central permitting document) over a year ago, and federal and provincial reviews are progressing well. The new development: Troilus is the first company named to Quebec's Filon initiative, part of the province's critical and strategic minerals strategy. The program assigns one government contact — Reed calls it a “shepherd” — to move the file between departments instead of the roughly 15 that developers normally juggle. The aim is less red tape and a faster permit. His conclusion: “It's not a matter of if we're getting a permit, it's a matter of how soon.”

## Financing is the last piece

Troilus holds mandates for $1.2 billion in project debt from its MLAs (mandated lead arrangers — the banks that assemble project financings), with due diligence done and credit committee approval expected shortly. The company has about $130 million in the bank and is close to finalizing a royalty or streaming deal, with multiple offers in final negotiation. Reed says a fully financed package will be shown to the market “very shortly.” A big-board US listing sits on the mid-term agenda, without a committed date.

What remains before construction: finishing the IBA (Impact and Benefit Agreement — the formal partnership with local Indigenous communities) with the Cree, who already make up 35% of the workforce, and closing the financing. Site work has started regardless: about $100 million of pre-development spending this year, roughly 8 million tons of rock moved, and the camp expanded from 100 to 350 people ahead of a 1,000-person construction workforce. Reed expects everything ready early next year to open the gate on a two-year build. Because current advanced-exploration work counts toward that timeline — including a 2-million-ton bulk sample he estimates at about $100 million of contained metal — first revenue could arrive in roughly 18 months, into 2028–2029.

## Exploration: the deposit is improving

Reed claims the mine will be Eastern Canada's largest gold and copper producer and a top-10 Canadian gold producer, with about 700 permanent staff across a 22-plus-year mine life. Drilling is now pushing the numbers higher on two fronts:

- **The West Rim.** Preliminary drilling about a kilometer outside the reserve pit has hit high grades near surface in a previously unknown zone — including 18.5 meters of almost 7 g/t (grams of gold per tonne) and nearly 20 g/t over 6 meters. Reed floats a small satellite pit, stresses that it is not yet in any mine plan, and labels it future upside; winter drilling on the target will be intensive. - **Zeros to heroes.** Inside the Z87 pit, drilling is converting hanging-wall and inferred material that earlier operators never sampled — counted as zeros in the model — into ore. One section shows about 160 meters of roughly a gram at depth, and on that section the strip ratio (waste moved per ton of ore; the feasibility assumes 3:1) falls about 25%, which flows directly into lower mining costs. Hole 507 returned 164 meters of 0.9 g/t where the model expected nothing.

The September 43-101 should capture part of this: Reed promises bigger reserves, higher grades and a lower strip ratio.

## The investor takeaway

The near-term calendar is crowded: credit committee on the $1.2 billion debt, a royalty or streaming decision, permits under the Filon process, and the updated 43-101, all of which Reed expects to present around the Denver Gold Show and Beaver Creek in late September. The host adds that development-stage miners often see their market multiple improve as each milestone lands. Every claim here is management's, and the financing and permits remain close rather than closed — the final terms will be what matter.