Cambria Gold Mines (TSXV: CAMB; US-OTC: CAMVF) is targeting another restart of the Premier gold mill in northern British Columbia for late next year after insufficient underground feed derailed its first production ramp-up.
Cambria plans to recommission the 2,500-tonne-per-day mill in the fourth quarter of 2027 and ramp it up through 2028. The Premier Gold Project (PGP) lies near the port of Stewart, on Nisga’a Nation Treaty Lands about 880 km northwest of Vancouver.
“Sufficient mineralization is accessible at PGP to commence mining, which would be subsequently augmented by Red Mountain once construction is complete,” President and CEO Robert McLeod said in a statement on Monday.
The timetable marks another bid to establish steady production at a complex where Cambria says $538 million (US$377.3 million) has been spent since 2021. An updated feasibility study, delayed from the current quarter to the first half next year, is to provide the next step by setting a revised mine plan, production schedule and restart cost.
Stock fall
Cambria shares were unchanged at 77¢ apiece in mid-Monday trading, having fallen 74% over the past 12 months. The stock has traded between 60¢ and $3.50 over that period, giving the company a market capitalization of about $287 million at Monday’s price.
Canaccord Genuity analyst Phil Ker expects Cambria to progress towards commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2027, he said in a note on Monday. Raymond James analyst Craig Stanley models commissioning in the first quarter of 2028, one quarter later than the company’s target.
Failed restart
Then operating as Ascot Resources, the company poured first gold at Premier in April 2024 but halted the mill five months later. Underground development at Big Missouri and Premier Northern Lights had fallen behind, leaving too little material to sustain processing.
Ascot restarted mine development in December that year and targeted an August 2025 mill restart. It didn’t secure a mining contractor and returned the project to care and maintenance in June 2025.
McLeod’s team assumed management of Ascot on Dec. 30, 2025, as the company began its recapitalization. Ascot completed a $175-million financing on Jan. 27 and changed its name to Cambria on Feb. 13, while Premier and Red Mountain remained within the same corporate group.
Cambria has also received more than $45.9 million from warrant exercises, the company said Monday.
Feed plan
Cambria plans to begin with material from Premier, Silver Coin and Big Missouri before adding Red Mountain feed. Silver Coin and the high-grade Premier deposit will be the main focus for the restart, the company said. It expects to resume underground development at Premier Northern Lights in the current quarter and start work at Silver Coin next spring.
Blending material from Premier with wider, lower-grade structures at Big Missouri could help fill the mill and reduce the risk of waiting for the Red Mountain road, BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Quast said in a May site-visit note. That approach could also conserve capital, although more definition drilling and resource work would be needed to ensure mined grades match the model, he said.
The company is drilling Premier on 12.5-metre centres to improve confidence in the geological model. Planned mill work includes a new crusher and conversion of an unused clarifier to a pre-leach thickener. A fine-grinding mill and second cyanide-detoxification tank would be added before processing Red Mountain feed.
Premier’s 2020 resource estimate lists 4.14 million indicated tonnes grading 8.01 grams gold per tonne for 1.07 million oz., plus 5.06 million inferred tonnes at 7.25 grams for 1.18 million ounces. Red Mountain contains 3.19 million measured and indicated tonnes at 7.63 grams for 783,000 oz., plus 405,000 inferred tonnes at 5.3 grams for 69,300 ounces.
Road access
Cambria received a Fisheries Act authorization late last month, the final permit required to resume construction of the Red Mountain access road. The approval allows work in Bitter Creek to rebuild sections damaged by a 2013 storm.
The company aims to reach Bromley Humps, about 12 km from Highway 37A, by year-end before completing the alpine section next year.
Cambria plans to truck Red Mountain material about 50 km through Stewart and Hyder, Alaska, to the Premier mill. It is also studying an aerial tram or rope conveyor between the deposit and Bitter Creek after the first year of operations.
The road is fully permitted, but Cambria still needs major mine authorizations for both projects and an amendment to Red Mountain’s environmental assessment certificate.
Water compliance
Premier’s water-treatment plant hasn’t consistently met permitted zinc-discharge limits since it was built in 2024, Cambria said. The company took operations in-house from a contractor, hired specialists and upgraded pumps, valves and pipes it described as neglected.
Cambria reported improved discharge results over the past two months but hasn’t said when the plant will reach full compliance.
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