Fury Gold Mines aiming to aggressively grow resources in three prolific mining regions of Canada

• Experienced team of gold developers with access to capital
• On a big exploration drive
• Over 3.5 million ounces of gold across its development platform

What Fury Gold Mines does:

Fury Gold Mines Ltd (TSE:FURY) (NYSEAMERICAN:FURY) is a newly established explorer focused on three prolific mining regions in Canada, which aims to advance its multi-million-ounce gold platform.

It came into being following the completion of the deal which saw junior Auryn Resources Inc (TSE:AUG) reorganize, spin out its Peruvian assets (NYSEAMERICAN:AUG) and acquire Eastmain Resources Inc (TSS:ER).

Shares in Fury Gold began trading on the NYSE American on October 12 last year and on the Toronto Stock Exchange on October 13 – following the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday.

Under the transaction, which required shareholder approval, Auryn bought Eastmain after spinning out its assets in Peru into two new companies and distributing the shares of those firms to Auryn shareholders.

The group said it was fully funded to carry out over 50,000 metres (m) of drilling at its Eau Claire project in Quebec and has working capital for 12 months after closing a C$23 million bought-deal financing.

Sitting in around 113,00 hectares in James Bay, Eau Claire boasts 853,000 ounces at a high grade of 6.18 grams per ton (g/t) gold in the measured and indicated (M&I) category. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in 2018 showed an after-tax net present value (NPV) of  C$397 million at a gold price of US$1,500 and total capex of US$283 million.

Last year the firm said that, over the next 18 months, it also plans to drill over 20,000m at the 7,500 hectare Homestake Ridge in British Columbia, which has 166,000 ounces at 7.02 g/t gold and 1.8 million ounces at 74.8 g/t silver. In 2020, a PEA showed an NPV for Homestake of US$108 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) after tax of 23.6% at US$1,350 per ounce of gold.

Elsewhere, Fury’s Committee Bay property in Nunavut has indicated resources of 524,000 ounces at 7.85 g/t gold and 720,000 inferred ounces at 7.64 g/t gold. More than 10,000m of drilling is planned there.

How is it doing:

Fury Gold Mines is aiming to advance the efforts of those firms who have gone before it, and exploration has been the order of the day so far in 2021.

On April 20, Fury released additional results from its drill program at its Eau Claire deposit in Quebec that showed good potential to expand the resource area. The company intersected 59.3 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 1 metre (m) and 8.9 g/t gold over 3m just east of the current resource. 

Fury is hoping to expand the resource by drilling outside of known resource blocks in the lower eastern region of the deposit, which is located in the James Bay region.  The current 25,000m drill program is part of a larger 50,000m program at Eau Claire.

A week earlier, Fury said it had identified two “compelling” target areas on the western limit of the Eau Claire project that may “significantly expand” the deposit. The targets are located below an area called the 850 zone and were developed through an increased understanding of the structural and lithological controls on mineralization within the deposit, said the company.

And in February, Fury said it aimed to explore the Percival trend in the James Bay region of Quebec this summer, which sits 14 kilometres km east of the Eau Claire deposit. A discovery was made in the area in 2018, including a drill assay of 78.5m at 1.46 g/t gold, and the company reckons the trend is home to a second style of mineralization at Eau Claire, which has largely been underexplored.

Elsewhere, in February, Fury outlined summer exploration plans for its Committee Bay gold project in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut – one of the largest unexplored greenstone belts left in North America. 

Planned are between 5,000m and 10,000m of drilling with three goals, one of which is to expand the existing resource at the Three Bluffs deposit, which already boasts 525,000 ounces (oz) at 7.85 grams per ton (g/t) gold in the indicated category and 720,000 oz at 7.64 g/t gold in inferred. 

The company also aims to drill the underexplored Raven high-grade vein target, which sits around 80 kilometers (km) west of the Three Bluffs deposit. Fury reckons the Raven target has the highest probability of becoming a major discovery and plans aggressive step-out holes to demonstrate the scale of the system and to explore, via mapping and sampling, the entire length of the 8km shear zone to define new targets. Only 1.2km of the 8km shear zone has been systematically explored to date.

And in the same month, Fury told investors it aimed to kick off a 25,000m drill program at its high-grade Homestake Ridge gold-silver project in British Columbia, 15,000m of which is aimed at extending the Homestake ridge deposit to depth and along strike,

A further 10,000m of infill drilling will be carried out at the Homestake silver deposit to upgrade a portion of the resource to the indicated category from inferred and demonstrate the continuity of mineralization.

In the boardroom, in March Fury outlined some changes as it positions for “the next phase” of its growth. It said Tim Clark, an experienced capital markets executive, had become an independent director, while board member Jeffrey Mason was named lead director. Blair Schultz, who was instrumental in the formation of Fury in 2020, and served as a board director and member of Fury’s audit committee, has resigned from the board, the company added. 

Clark boasts 23 years of global capital markets experience with numerous US, European and Canadian banks, including Barclays Capital, National Bank Financial, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and most recently BMO Capital Markets.

Mason joined the Fury board upon its formation in October 2020 and brought with him extensive experience in exploration, development, construction and operation of precious and base metals projects in the Americas, Asia and Africa, including 15 years as a principal, board director and chief financial officer at the Hunter Dickinson group of companies. He is currently an independent director of Torq Resources Inc, Tier One Silver Inc and Sombrero Resources Inc.

Inflection points:

• Further drilling and exploration results
• Precious metals moves

What the broker says:

Roth Capital Partners recently repeated a ‘Buy’ on Fury shares with a US$2.70 share price target (current price: $1.41)

Roth analyst Joe Reagor highlighted the results of the first five drill holes at Eau Claire.

“We note the drill holes included significant intercepts of high-grade gold. If FURY is able to continue this drilling success, it is likely it could lead to a meaningful resource increase, in our view,” he said.

The analyst also pointed out that these assays made up only a small fraction of the planned drilling at Eau Claire for 2021.

What the boss says:

In April’s Eau Claire drilling update, Fury Mike Timmins said:  “Our deposit drilling continues to yield high-grade results as we intersect new areas of mineralization outside of the defined resource, demonstrating a strong potential to expand the resource east.

“In addition to this progress, we are highly encouraged with the newly identified Snake Lake structure, where we have recently completed drilling and are eagerly awaiting assay results. Our ongoing exploration program will now focus on the western extensions of Eau Claire, the previously announced Fold Hinge and Limb target areas.”

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Story by ProactiveInvestors