Sirios eyes 200,000 oz gold a year in Quebec

Sirios Resources (TSXV: SOI; US-OTC: SIREF) is sizing its Cheechoo project as a large standalone gold operation in Quebec’s James Bay region as CEO Jean-Félix Lepage moves the deposit from resource growth towards economic studies.

The company is contemplating a mill processing about 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes per day and says a viable first-stage project should recover at least 200,000 oz. of gold annually for a decade. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is targeted for around the second quarter of 2027.

“I really see Cheechoo as a greenfield project,” Lepage told The Northern Miner by phone in September. “So far we’re really focused on building it as a standalone.”

The push follows Sirios’s February acquisition of Osisko Development (NYSE, TSXV: ODV)-backed OVI Mining, which brought Lepage in as CEO and Osisko’s chairman Sean Roosen and vice-president Laurence Farmer onto the board. Cheechoo lies less than 15 km from London-based Dhilmar’s Éléonore mine, with road access and nearby hydroelectric infrastructure that could support development. The Osisko team has brought a fresh development focus to the project.

Resource push

Sirios completed the first stage of its Cheechoo drilling program on Sept. 28, with 45 drill holes totalling 23,037 metres, the company said in a Sept. 29 update. The stage had originally been planned at 25,000 metres. Assays were expected to continue through October and into early November, Lepage said in the interview.

The drilling is aimed largely at converting mineralized zones outlined in the 2025 technical report that lack enough drill density to qualify as resources. Sirios is also testing the higher-grade Eclipse zone and metasedimentary rocks outside the deposit’s main tonalite host.

The latter are significant because similar metasedimentary rocks host the Éléonore mine. Previous Cheechoo exploration concentrated mainly on the tonalite, making this the first substantial program to target the surrounding rocks, Lepage said.

Initial results included drill hole CH26-326, which cut 48.5 metres grading 2.4 grams gold per tonne from 561.5 metres downhole, including 1.1 metres grading 77.65 grams from 564.5 metres. The same drill hole cut 37.6 metres grading 1.49 grams from 257.7 metres.

Drill hole CH26-327 cut 32.2 metres grading 1.16 grams from 78.5 metres downhole. It also cut 10.3 metres grading 2.28 grams from 114 metres.

The September update added intervals of 6.5 metres grading 39.94 grams gold in drill hole CH26-337 and 12.5 metres grading 9.07 grams in CH26-345. The reported lengths don’t necessarily represent true widths, which remain unknown, Sirios said.

Some of the mineralization lies outside the shapes used in the existing resource.

The July 2025 estimate contains 35 million indicated tonnes grading 1.12 grams for 1.26 million oz. of gold and 42.7 million inferred tonnes grading 1.23 grams for 1.69 million oz., including 4.5 million underground tonnes grading 3.09 grams for 446,000 oz.

Sirios expects to complete a new resource estimate in the fourth quarter using results from the first drilling stage. Lepage wouldn’t put an ounce target on the update but noted the existing resource is based on about 82,700 metres of drilling.

Project scale

The open pit is expected to anchor the PEA, although Sirios also plans to consider an underground component following its inclusion in last year’s resource.

“The open pit component is important and will remain, at least for the time being, the centre of the project,” Lepage said. “We’ll definitely optimize anything about open pit before looking the underground.”

He views the PEA as establishing a first development stage rather than defining Cheechoo’s ultimate size. Exploration would continue while Sirios advances permitting and other work needed to move the project towards an investment decision.

The company hired mining engineer Daniel Deschênes in September as vice-president of projects to lead the PEA and subsequent development work.

Deschênes has more than 15 years of mine development and operating experience, including roles with Newmont (NYSE, ASX: NEM; TSX: NGT), Iamgold (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG), Nemaska Lithium and Windsor Salt. He also worked at Éléonore, where Lepage spent eight years earlier in his career.

Despite that mine’s proximity, Sirios isn’t counting on using its processing plant. Cheechoo already has road access, while James Bay’s extensive hydroelectric network could provide power.

One possibility to be studied is a connection towards the Eastmain-1 substation, about 50 km from the project, Lepage said.

Funded studies

Its $25-million (US$17.5-million) March financing leaves Sirios funded through the PEA without another near-term trip to the market, the company says. Warrant and option exercises had added another $3.5 million to its treasury by May.

“We don’t intend to raise more money in the short term,” Lepage said. “That $25 million for us was right size to bring us to a PEA result.”

The money covers a planned 35,000 metres of drilling. A second stage of about 12,000 metres is scheduled to begin in January 2027, Sirios said in its September update.

While the first stage is primarily designed to expand the resource, the follow-up program is expected to shift towards step-outs and regional targets that haven’t been tested. Those results would arrive as work on the PEA advances in 2027.

Sirios has also proposed a 15-for-one share consolidation and a name change to Sirios Mining. Both require shareholder approval at an Oct. 30 meeting and compliance with TSX Venture Exchange requirements, the company said Sept. 28.

District play

While Cheechoo remains the overwhelming focus, Sirios also holds 49% of the Aquilon gold property in a joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada. It acquired PLEX and Corvet Est through the OVI transaction.

Lepage described the current allocation as roughly 90% Cheechoo and 10% exploration elsewhere. Work at PLEX and Corvet Est is planned for winter 2027.

The broader portfolio underpins an ambition to build beyond a single mine. James Bay remains relatively young as a gold district and Cheechoo could eventually provide scale around which other deposits develop, Lepage said.

“Cheechoo has that potential to be a cornerstone asset for the entire district,” he said. “Definitely we’ll keep that perspective in mind and make sure that we also progress on the other properties over the years.”