Scotgold Resources (LON: SGZ) is expecting to pour first gold from its Cononish project by November 30, the company announced on Friday.
Located in the Highlands north of Glasgow, the Cononish gold and silver project is slated to become Scotland’s first commercial gold mine.
The project has faced several delays, with first production having been pushed out to May 2020 to make site modifications, but was later postponed again due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Construction and development activities at the Cononish project, which were suspended between March 27 and June 15 to comply with the Scottish government’s emergency measures, are now progressing well, the company said.
Critical platform earthworks, concrete works and placement of major equipment items have all been completed, and plant construction is now focussed on the building structure, to be followed by the installation and connections of pumps, drives, piping and electrics and ultimately commissioning.
The project currently has estimated reserves of 550,000 tonnes at a grade of 11.8 g/t Au, which, at an average production rate of 23,370 ounces per year, equates to a nine-year life-of-mine. The company had previously stated that there is the potential to improve on this in the future.
Meanwhile, Scotgold has also expanded its geoscience team with the appointment of Dr. Simon Dominy as group manager – resources and reserves, as well as David Catterall as exploration consultant to advise on the Grampian project, which is focused on identifying gold and base metal mineralization within the Grampian Terrane.
Shares of Scotgold Resources rose 4.0% on the London Stock Exchange, capping the Australia-based miner at a market value of 49.3 million British pounds.