Artemis Gold (TSXV: ARTG) produced 69,546 ounces of gold at its Blackwater Mine in the third quarter of 2026, a 14% increase over the same period a year earlier.
The process plant milled 1.48 million tonnes during the quarter, or roughly 16,100 tonnes per day, which puts the operation close to its 6 million tonne per annum nameplate. Mill feed grades averaged 1.55 g/t gold, and overall recoveries came in at 90%.
That grade is below the 1.66 g/t the mine delivered in the fourth quarter of 2025, but the decline was expected. When it issued 2026 guidance in January, the company said it anticipated higher grades in the first half of the year and higher throughput in the second half, as components of its Phase 1A plant expansion came online. Recovery has improved over the same period, up from 88.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
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Year to date production stands at 205,532 ounces against full year guidance of 265,000 to 290,000 ounces. To reach the low end of that range, Blackwater needs about 59,500 ounces in the fourth quarter, well below what it produced in the quarter just reported.
“We remain well positioned to achieve our full-year production guidance,” said CEO Dale Andres. He also pointed to a significant increase in mill throughput compared with the first half of the year.
Debottlenecking work at the plant is continuing. A contractor is completing repairs to tanks in the leach circuit, and that work is scheduled to finish before Phase 1A commissioning in December. The expansion will raise annual design throughput by 33% to 8 million tonnes per annum and is now 77% complete.
Major works construction is also underway on the Expanded Phase 2 project. Andres said the two expansions together will more than triple current processing capacity. They are expected to lift annual gold production above 500,000 ounces in 2029.
Cost figures will come with the full third quarter financial and operating results, due November 4. The company has guided to all-in sustaining costs of US$925 to US$1,025 per ounce sold for 2026.
Artemis Gold last traded at $38.29 on the TSX.
