2023 could be a big year for gold and northern Ontario mines

Some mineral analysts are predicting that 2023 could be a golden year for the price of gold. 

This comes as mining companies are already busy searching northern Ontario for new deposits and spending billions of dollars to expand existing mines. 

Gold is trading upwards of $1,800 per ounce to start the year, but some analysts say it could climb up to $3,000 or even $4,000 by the end of the year. 

"Most companies are thinking 'Well, maybe long term you've got $1,500 to $1,600 gold price," said John McCluskey, CEO of Alamos Gold. 

His company has spent $1 billion on upgrades to the Young-Davidson gold mine in Matachewan since purchasing the property in 2015.

Alamos is currently in the midst of investing $1 billion at the Island Gold Mine near Dubreuilville, including sinking a shaft to expand the mine from a ramp into an underground operation. 

McCluskey said while the strong gold prices will help them pay off those investments faster, it's not the reason for spending the money in the first place.

"There's another sort of misconception I think. And that is that these investment decisions are taken on the basis of the gold price. And frankly, they're not," he said.

McCluskey said Alamos is putting in the infrastructure at these two mines, which currently employ 1,500 people, and hoping to better understanding what gold reserves they have in the ground so the mines can last for decades instead of years. 

"It's difficult to commit the kind of capital it takes to turn these mines into world class operations," McCluskey said.

There are numerous companies trying to bring new gold mines online across northern Ontario in the coming years, although some have struggled to get their projects into production. 

There has been a lot of hype around IAMGOLD's Côté Lake deposit near Gogama for the past decade, but the company has had to refinance its operations several times, including a new arrangement announced in December. 

IAMGOLD did not respond to requests for comment.

While only a few analysts are predicting the price of gold could double this year, almost all say it will go up. 

"It has to. Because there's finite supply," said Kai Hoffman, CEO of the Soar Financial Group based in Germany. 

"I don't think it's going to spike or explode, but gold will see its day in the sunlight here in 2023."

Hoffman said the light of investors will continue shine on northern Ontario gold mines thanks to stable and predictable government regulations, unlike other parts of the world where gold is found.