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Published: October 21, 2026 |
Cambria Gold Mines has released the status of ongoing construction, development, permitting, feasibility study preparation, and infill drilling progress from the Premier Gold Project (PGP) and Red Mountain Gold Project, located near Stewart in northwestern British Columbia. The company has also made appointments to its engineering and operational team.
The company is targeting commissioning of the 2,500 tonne per day mill at PGP in Q4 of 2027 with continued ramp up through 2028. Additionally, the company has secured $32.7 million (CA$45.9 million) in financing.
“Cambria continues to advance operational permitting, infill drilling, engineering, and construction activities at PGP and Red Mountain, de-risking critical components to facilitate mining and processing in late 2027. Sufficient mineralization is accessible at PGP to commence mining, which would be subsequently augmented by Red Mountain once construction is complete,” said Robert McLeod, president and CEO of Cambria Gold Mines.
“The Red Mountain Access Road construction is advancing very well and we are pushing to achieve access to Bromley Humps by the end of 2026,” added McLeod.
“As we complete additional development and prepare for operation readiness, our ability to attract exceptional engineers, such as: Ali Farah, Carla Romero, Brandon Chambers, and Dinesh Devathasan, is driven by the quality of our gold projects and by our positive, supportive and determined team,” said Gord Doerksen, VP Projects of Cambria Gold Mines.
“Our construction team has made strong headway in all facets, and our new engineering strength will set us up well for continued project development in 2027, with particular emphasis on planning and engineering, as well as water management and treatment and PGP,” added Doerksen.
PERMITTING
The company achieved a significant permitting milestone in 2026 with the receipt of all permits required for construction of the Red Mountain access road. In parallel, Cambria is advancing engineering and environmental programs to support submission of the proposed haul road permit application. Baseline environmental studies were also conducted throughout 2026 at both the Premier and Red Mountain projects to validate and supplement existing environmental baseline information, while supporting ongoing project planning and future permitting requirements.
Looking ahead, the company’s permitting efforts will focus on advancing the major mine authorizations required for the construction and operation of both the Premier and Red Mountain projects. At Red Mountain, ongoing engineering, environmental, and technical studies are also supporting an amendment to the existing environmental assessment certificate to reflect the current project design and development plan. The company continues to work collaboratively with regulatory agencies, Indigenous interests, and local stakeholders to advance these permitting processes.
RED MOUNTAIN ACCESS ROAD
The final permit for the Red Mountain access road, a Fisheries Act Authorization (FAA), was received in September 2026, allowing for in-stream construction work to be performed in Bitter Creek, rebuilding sections of a previous road that was washed away during a storm event in 2013. With the FFA in hand, Cambria’s construction team and road building contractor are advancing the road expeditiously and safely toward its goal of reaching the Bromley Humps area near the base of Red Mountain, roughly 12 km from Highway 37A.
The alpine portion of the road to access the Red Mountain deposit is anticipated to be built during the 2027 construction season. The company’s objective is to truck mill feed material to the mill at PGP, a distance of approximately 50 km, through the communities of Stewart and Hyder.
Additionally, the company is studying bulk material transport options; an aerial tramline or rope conveyor from the Red Mountain Deposit to the Bitter Creek valley, which would be installed after the road is completed, likely following the first year of operations. These aerial conveyance systems have historically been used extensively in the region and modern systems have proven very successful globally.
FEASIBILITY STUDY UPDATE
Cambria continues to advance an updated Red Mountain-PGP feasibility study to capture the value of the combined project, with targeted completion in H1 2027. SLR Advisors, a global mining consultancy, has been engaged to be the primary author with support from QPs from other specialists in their respective fields.
The feasibility study work is informed by an extensive infill drilling program at PGP to provide robust resource confidence, as well as new metallurgical testing, mine plan optimization, and processing plant modifications to treat mineralized material from both projects. No additional infill drilling has been required at the Red Mountain Deposit.
WATER TREATMENT PLANT
At PGP, the priority work on the site has been water management and the water treatment plant. Since construction in 2024, the water treatment plant (WTP) continually struggled with discharge compliance for zinc. Through a series of focused initiatives, expedited with urgency, the company is advancing closer to compliance with results improving in the past two months.
Extensive efforts have fixed many of the WTP’s operational problems, including taking over control of plant operations with in-house personnel (previously managed and operated by a contractor), engaging specialized water treatment consultants for guidance, and activating better process controls. Cambria’s team completed extensive upgrades and additions to pumps, valves, pipes and various equipment that were in various stages of neglect. The company also updated a water balance to better understand the entire water system and how best to manage and treat contact water.
MINING
Cambria is currently upgrading underground infrastructure at Premier-Northern Lights with brow support, power upgrades, a ventilation bulkhead, water management sumps, and secondary egress. These improvements will be complete by the end of 2026 and will allow the company to begin additional development for stope access for mining and additional platforms for further infill drilling.
Underground work will be completed using Cambria’s newly purchased and commissioned fleet of mining equipment including LHDs, a twin-boom face jumbo, scissor deck, and service vehicles. Additionally, underground development at the Silver Coin deposit will take place in the spring of 2027 to create development for operations.
Accessing Silver Coin will be from the recently constructed underground workings at the Big Missouri deposit, 700 meters north of Silver Coin or from a new portal location closer to the mineralized zones, based on permitting considerations. Cambria’s remodelling of the Big Missouri Deposit has also identified the potential for several small open pit, that will be further evaluated as part of the feasibility study.
The 2026 geotechnical drilling at new Silver Coin and Red Mountain portal locations will assist in detailed portal design. All deposits benefit from previous underground development accelerating the company’s development plan and reducing anticipated restart capital costs.
PREMIER MILL UPGRADES
Detailed planning and budgeting of the Premier processing plant upgrades are underway with engineering, procurement, and installation work.
The mill operated as recently as 2025 and is in excellent condition. Based on past operating knowledge, the program includes some additional optimizations. These critical improvements include the installations of a new primary jaw crusher and feeder. The crusher building, covered crushed material stockpile and conveyor system, dating to the 1990’s operations are in excellent condition, with just the mechanical and electrical components required.
Additional immediate upgrades will include converting an unused clarifier to a pre-leach thickener. Prior to introduction of material from Red Mountain, a fine grinding mill and second detox tank will be added. All required mill upgrades for restarting with Premier material will be completed in 2027.
APPOINTMENTS TO CAMBRIA’S OPERATING TEAM
To plan and execute on the company’s re-start preparations, Cambria has expanded its project team with the addition of four exceptional people to the engineering team.
Ali Farah, P.Eng., a highly experienced mechanical engineer and manager with more than 35 years of experience, has joined Cambria as director of engineering responsible for all engineering activities for the project. Farah will oversee all technical work done by consultants and in-house personnel to maintain high engineering standards, align all engineering work and ensure the greatest efficiency of design and execution. He will be a key piece of the company’s strategic and tactical planning. Farah has a decade of experience in northwest BC mining in addition to more than 20 years of various technical and management roles in mining and other industries.
Carla Romero Robiero, P.Eng. joined as Cambria’s environmental manager, with a primary focus on water system compliance, monitoring and reporting. Robiero has 20 years of experience and was most recently the senior lead, Water Integrated Planning with a major mining company. She integrates water balance, water quality, treatment, mine planning, and financial analysis to guide assets toward resilient, low-risk outcomes.
Brandon Chambers, P.Eng. recently joined as the new manager of Engineering. Chambers is a mining engineer with a broad range of operational, planning, and construction experience. Chambers is an accomplished problem solver, planner, and leader and will be extremely valuable providing guidance and knowledge to the wide range of initiatives Cambria is pursuing as well as providing engineering controls for our improvement plans.
Dinesh Devathasan, P.Eng. recently joined as the underground manager, who will lead Cambria’s team as underground development is advanced that takes the company to production. Devathasan has proven, relevant experience in taking underground mining projects into successful, producing mines. Devathasan’s experience spans technical and management roles giving him the holistic knowledge needed to ensure a successful restart of Cambria’s mining assets. Devathasan has many years of Golden Triangle operating experience including at the Brucejack Mine.
Cambria Gold Mines is a Canadian mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Cambria is the 100 percent owner of the Premier Project and Red Mountain Gold Project that are located on Nisga’a Nation Treaty Lands, in the prolific Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia, as well as the large Mt. Margaret copper-gold porphyry deposit located in Washington State.
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