Teck-Hughes gold tailings project, Canada
Name of the Project
Teck-Hughes gold tailings project.
Location
Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.
Project Owner/s
Fulcrum Metals plc, through its subsidiary Fulcrum EnviroTech Corporation. Fulcrum holds a 100% interest in the project's mining rights.
Project Description
The former Teck-Hughes mine historically milled about 9.57-million tonnes of ore and produced 3.7-million ounces of gold. Historic sampling and drilling of the tailings reported an average grade of about 0.66 g/t gold and a non-NI 43-101-compliant estimate of 6.53-million tonnes containing about 138 460 oz of gold.
Fulcrum completed a 159-hole auger drilling programme in 2025. Average grades from surface were 0.63 g/t gold, 0.70 g/t silver, 12.86 g/t tellurium and 17.12 g/t gallium. Rubidium, strontium and zirconium were also identified. The results showed consistent lateral and vertical grade distribution, with a maximum tailings thickness of 12.4 m.
The metallurgical programme has progressed through three phases.
Phase 1 gold-leaching testwork in 2024 achieved a recovery of 59.4%.
Phase 2, completed in early 2025, outlined a base-case operation processing 2 000 t/d over a nine-year mine life using a single-stage leach and dewatering process within a closed-loop system.
Phase 3 optimisation using Extrakt Process Solutions' cyanide-free technology achieved recoveries of up to 78% for gold, 95% for silver, 96% for tellurium, 85% for copper and about 20% for gallium. Leach times were about six hours, with water and reagent recovery rates of about 80%. These results and the drilling data are expected to support a maiden mineral resource estimate and a Phase 4 preliminary feasibility study-level economic assessment.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The Phase 2 conceptual study estimates a pretax net present value, at a 7.5% discount rate, of $33-million and an internal rate of return of 21.4%, with a payback period of about three years.
Capital Expenditure
Not stated.
Planned Start/End Date
Not stated. Pilot-scale implementation is an immediate priority for the remainder of 2026.
Latest Developments
Fulcrum has secured a £6-million package to fund a standalone cyanide-free pilot processing platform in Ontario. In June 2026, it signed deployment and operating agreements with TDI Solutions, supported by Extrakt and Bechtel Energy Technologies & Solutions.
Fulcrum has also acquired five surface rights totalling 190 ha at Teck-Hughes for C$220 000 and a 1.5% net smelter royalty, reducible to 0.5% through agreed buyback payments. This strengthens land access, infrastructure planning and the pathway towards permitting and development.
The pilot will generate operational, metallurgical and engineering data for commercial development. Together with geological modelling and drilling data, the work is expected to support a maiden NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate, as well as the next technical and economic studies.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Extrakt Process Solutions (leaching technology and metallurgical optimisation); TDI Solutions (pilot platform); Bechtel (technical support); and AP Kane & Associates (permitting and stakeholder engagement).
Contact Details for Project Information
Fulcrum Metals tel: +44 20 7236 1177.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
















