Back in action: Oban Mining aiming to be next Canadian mining house.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: MINING

Like the 14-year-old Scotch whiskey it's named for, the executives at Oban Mining hope the company will only get better with age, satisfying even the most finicky of investor palates.

Launched by the same team that brought the Canadian Malartic gold mine online, Oban wants to be the next great Canadian mining house, and president-CEO John Burzynski doesn't shy away from making bold statements about its plans.

"We intend to be the next Osisko Mining Corporation," he said during a January presentation to the Sudbury Prospectors and Developers Association.

Osisko Mining Corp. broke new ground in 2011 when it discovered Malartic after repurposing an old mine whose high-grade deposits had been mined out and developed a low-grade, bulk-tonnage model of operation.

Goldcorp came calling in early 2014, and Osisko could only fend off its suitors for so long. The company was broken up and sold off to Agnico-Eagle Mines and Yamana Gold Inc. that same year. Malartic is now the largest gold producer in Canada.

"It was a bitter pill for us to swallow, having spent 13 years from discovery to concept, and going through all those days and things that we did when everyone told us we couldn't do it, and then finally achieving it," Burzynski said. "And the mine is up and running."

But Burzynski and the former Osisko team didn't walk away entirely empty-handed. Out of the ashes rose Osisko Gold Royalties, which receives a 5 per cent net smelter return (NSR) royalty from the Malartic mill.

With Oban Mining, the team is now determined to use the same model that brought them success with Osisko--low-grade, bulk-tonnage mining--to a new group of properties.

"We feel we have a contribution to make to mining," Burzynski said. "We took an idea that hadn't been used before, turning an old mining camp into a brand-new one, and we want to do it again."

Oban's main assets include its flagship Windfall Lake in Quebec, Garrcon and Jonpol east of Matheson, and Cote south of Kirkland Lake. Windfall, Garrcon and Jonpol are all at the drilling stage, while Cote remains at the early stages of exploration.

Osisko Gold Royalties, meanwhile, is taking advantage of the downturn to add to its portfolio, picking up properties from companies with mounting debt. Burzynski said Osisko has bought about one company a month since last August and is actively conducting deals...