The mine project’s $1.44 billion Phase 2 expansion is set to deliver an economic boost in a region hit by a deep downturn in the forestry sector
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Construction crews have started the main work for a major expansion of Artemis Gold Inc.’s Blackwater gold/silver mine in British Columbia’s central interior, 15 months after its first production.
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The open-pit mine, 160 kilometres south west of Prince George, was always envisioned as a three-phase project. The $1-billion first phase broke ground in 2023 with Phase 2 to expected follow in four or five years and Phase 3 within 10 years, according to CEO Dale Andres.
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That plan, however, didn’t account for the price of gold shooting up 44 per cent in the 22 months it took to build Phase 1, justifying continuing exploration work to point at the potential for an even bigger mine. By the end of 2025, before its first full year of production, Artemis green-lit Phase 2.
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The price of gold has soared another 57 per cent since production crews poured the first gold mined at Blackwater in January 2025. The gold price hit US$4,434 in trading Tuesday on Commodity Exchange Inc.
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“I don’t have a crystal ball to know where the gold price is going,” Andres said. “But with a medium and long-term view that it would be strengthening, it was great that (the mine opening) aligned so well with first gold coming online with record gold prices.”
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At opening, the Blackwater mine employed some 900 direct and contract workers. After producing some 193,000 ounces of gold in 2025, it embarked directly on its expansion plans, starting with spending $120 million to build a bigger rock mill for Phase 1.
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At the end of July, contractors started pouring concrete for the foundations for the $1.44 billion Phase 2 expansion, a major economic jolt for the Central Interior, which has been hit hard by a downturn in the forestry sector.
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Artemis announced the substantial start of Phase 2 in the same week it reported second-quarter financial results showing $199 million in net profits on $434 million in revenue, compared with $100 million on $231 million in revenue for the same quarter in 2025.
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Mining Association of B.C. CEO Michael Goehring referred to the expansion project as “a big deal” for the region.
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“That mine is really turning out to be an economic powerhouse in a region that has got some real challenges with respect to forestry,” Goehring said.
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Construction and opening of Blackwater’s first phase at the start of 2025 coincided with the 2024 closure of a Canfor Corp. sawmill, with the loss of 260 direct jobs in Vanderhoof, 110 kilometres to the north and the closest community to the mine.
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In a previous interview, Vanderhoof Mayor Kevin Moutray said the mine hasn’t been a direct replacement for those sawmill and corresponding logging jobs in the region, but mining activity has “softened the blow.”
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Andres said activity on Phase 2 will ramp up over the next six to nine months to a peak construction workforce of up to 1,500, with a 2028 deadline for completion. He expects the permanent workforce to hit 1,200 once the expansion is in operation.
