LaFleur Minerals Inc. has reported significant technical and infrastructure progress at its Swanson Gold Deposit and wholly owned Beacon Gold Mill in Québec as the company enters the final stages of its Preliminary Economic Assessment. The advancements include completed verification drilling to support the PEA, ongoing metallurgical and mill optimization studies, and evaluation of a permitted tailings facility expansion. These developments support a disciplined, capital-efficient plan to restart gold production.
With current gold prices substantially higher than during the Beacon mill's last operation in 2022, LaFleur is advancing plans to restart the 750-tonne-per-day processing facility. The PEA indicates the mill could be scaled to 1,000 tonnes per day initially, with potential for expansion to 3,000–4,000 tonnes per day in the longer term. The mill would primarily process material from the nearby Swanson Gold Project, located approximately 18,304 hectares along a major structural break in the Abitibi Gold Belt near Val-d'Or.
The company recently secured $7.8 million in financing to fully fund the mill restart, continued metallurgical testing, and infrastructure planning. LaFleur has also initiated preliminary discussions with Canadian National Railway regarding rail enhancements that would support long-term production and improve logistics efficiencies. The Beacon Gold Mill is fully permitted and refurbished, capable of processing over 750 tonnes daily, and is being considered for both Swanson Project material and potential custom milling operations for other nearby gold projects.
This development matters because it represents a strategic move to bring gold production back online in a premier mining jurisdiction during a period of strong gold prices. The Swanson Gold Project's accessibility by road allows direct access to several nearby gold mills, enhancing its development potential. The company's focus on advancing both the resource-stage Swanson Project and the Beacon Mill creates a vertically integrated operation that could deliver long-term value through efficient production restart and scalable operations.
The implications extend beyond the company to the regional mining economy in Québec, where successful project development could create employment and demonstrate the viability of restarting previously operational facilities. For investors and the mining industry, LaFleur's progress shows how disciplined capital deployment and infrastructure optimization can position companies to capitalize on favorable commodity cycles. The company's latest updates are available in its newsroom at http://ibn.fm/LFLRF.
