Eldorado Gold's McIlvenna Bay polymetallic mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, is advancing through its commissioning phase and is on track to achieve commercial production during the third quarter of 2026, according to SunSirs reporting. The underground copper-zinc-gold-silver operation, located in the Flin Flon greenstone belt, has demonstrated operational progress with the production of its first copper concentrate batch in June 2026, followed by successful zinc concentrate production in July 2026. The facility is currently in the steady ramp-up phase of operations.
The mine is designed to process 4,900 tonnes of ore per day at full capacity. At steady state production, the operation is expected to generate approximately 24,500 tonnes of zinc annually and 18,600 tonnes of copper annually, alongside associated gold and silver by-products. The project has a mine lifespan exceeding 18 years.
To support the production ramp-up phase, more than 400,000 tonnes of ore stockpiles have been prepared on the surface. During 2026, which represents the ramp-up phase, the mine is expected to produce between 3,000 to 6,000 tonnes of zinc and 5 to 10 million pounds of copper. Eldorado Gold completed the acquisition of the project from original developer Foran Mining in April 2026.
Beyond the current design parameters, Eldorado is actively evaluating capacity expansion options that would increase processing capacity to 7,000 tonnes per day and include the addition of a lead and silver recovery circuit. As a critical minerals project in Canada, the additional copper and zinc supply is positioned to supplement North American raw material supplies and support the raw material security requirements of the clean energy industry chain. Source: SunSirs, China Commodity Data Group
Source: sunsirs.com