The Toronto-listed company announced on Thursday that the province of Ontario had filed the closure plan for Magino, which would produce about 150 000 oz/y in the first five years of its 17-year mine life.

"The filing of the closure plan is a significant milestone and allows us to begin site preparation activities for construction of the Magino mine and processing facility,” said president and CEO Pete Dougherty in a statement.

Argonaut envisions a two-year construction period with first gold production at Magino during the first half of 2023.

The Magino project initial capital estimate of between C$480-million and C$510-million, of which approximately 40% is covered by a fixed-bid contract with Ausenco Engineering Canada, is considered fully financed through Argonaut`s current cash balance and anticipated cash flow from operations assuming a gold price environment at or above $1 600/oz.

“Magino is truly a valuable and strategic asset given existing infrastructure, the already-known mineral endowment of the orebody and the existing exploration potential, its location within the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Ontario, Canada and its proximity to other strong cash flowing operations such as the Island Gold mine,” said Dougherty.