A Closer Look at LaFleur Minerals' Low CAPEX Path to Gold Production

CEO.CA Apr 7, 2026 7:12

Summary

LaFleur Minerals' new PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment) charts a $31M CAD restart built around its wholly-owned Beacon Gold Mill.

The $2,750 gold base case yields an AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost — what it really costs to produce an ounce) just under $1,600.

CEO Paul Ténière says a 100,000-tonne bulk sample feeds the mill first, with the full production decision following those results.

Beacon Mill refurbishment is just over 50% complete and on budget, with the first gold pour targeted for later in 2026.

Regional M&A — Probe Gold's buyout by Fresnillo — could free up non-core projects near LaFleur's mill, management says.

The CEO calls Fresnillo's buyout of Probe Gold a big event for the area, noting most of those projects sit near the Beacon Mill.
LaFleur will look at whether projects Fresnillo may consider non-core after the Probe takeover could be brought into LaFleur.

The CEO says a new PEA lays out a low-capital path back to production through the wholly owned Beacon Gold Mill: $31 million in initial capex (covering re-commissioning the mill and getting the Swanson mine into production) and a 65% IRR at the $2,750/oz base-case gold price.
About $4 million of the $31 million has already been spent re-commissioning the Beacon Mill, which sat in care and maintenance for two years; as of the April 2026 interview the refurbishment is just over 50% complete, on budget and on time, with a first gold pour targeted for later in 2026.
At the $2,750/oz base case the PEA implies an all-in sustaining cost just under $1,600/oz, which the CEO argues keeps the project very competitive even at $4,000-$5,000 gold.
The restart starts with a 100,000-tonne open-pit bulk sample at Swanson on the mining lease, processed at the Beacon Mill for roughly a year of production before a larger production decision, while drilling through the year aims to grow the mostly-indicated resource at depth.
LaFleur plans to expand the Beacon Mill to at least 3,000 tonnes per day as a regional processing hub, using existing on-site stockpiles of close to 20,000 tonnes (high-grade and low-grade) as commissioning test material and drawing on more than a year of talks with regional juniors to fill spare capacity.

Top takeaway The CEO argues LaFleur defies the high-interest-rate squeeze on new mine builds with a $31 million initial capex restart carrying a 65% IRR, and reports the mill refurbishment is just over 50% complete, on budget and on time, for a first pour later in 2026.
He frames the PEA's $2,750/oz gold price as a conservative, industry-standard base case, arguing the just-under-$1,600/oz all-in sustaining cost keeps Swanson very competitive at $4,000-$5,000 gold.
He plans a staged restart: a 100,000-tonne open-pit bulk sample at Swanson (about a year of production) run through the Beacon Mill before committing to the larger PEA-scale project, with commissioning helped by roughly 20,000 tonnes of existing on-site stockpile.
His core thesis is the permitted Beacon Mill as a multi-asset regional processing hub: more than a year of talks with regional juniors, a planned expansion to at least 3,000 tonnes per day, and openness to toll milling or a combination with the mill at the centre, including ex-Probe assets Fresnillo may view as non-core.
He sees resource growth ahead, with drilling through the year to extend the mostly-indicated Swanson resource at depth and work underway to bring other deposits on the nearly 190-square-kilometre property to at least an inferred resource.