Troilus set to get electricity for Quebec gold project

Troilus Mining Corp. landed a deal that could help supply the development-stage firm with the electricity needed to restart a Quebec gold mine, according to a document released by a provincial lawmaker.

The Montreal-based company owns the Troilus mine in northern Quebec, which was operated by Inmet Mining Corp. from 1996 until the facility’s closing in 2010. Troilus Mining plans to restart the operation, but has been seeking affordable electricity to advance the project.

The company received a pre-authorization letter from the Quebec government on Sept. 26 for access to power, according to a social media post by Liberal lawmaker Monsef Derraji, the opposition critic for energy. The post added that Troilus was one of the “priority projects” for Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s government.

Details of the power allocation weren’t provided, but Troilus has said it needs 23 megawatts to revive the operation and restart production by 2028. Chief executive officer Justin Reid said in an August interview that the firm needs 70 megawatts to fully run the operation afterward.

Quebec’s economy ministry, which oversees the provincially owned power provider Hydro-Quebec, declined to comment on the document’s authenticity. Troilus Mining said it couldn’t comment until the process is finalized.

The company formerly known as Troilus Gold Corp. changed its name this month to better represent “the full scope of future metals production” since it will also produce copper, according to a Dec. 5 statement. It has secured as much as $700 million in financing to restart the mine from Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau, Societe Generale and Export Development Canada, according to a corporate document from November.

The company has a market value of about C$850 million ($617 million) and counts Quebec’s pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec among its top shareholders, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

(By Mathieu Dion)