The company has up to six underground drills turning at its Casa Berardi gold project 95 km north of La Sarre.

With the markets more focused now on the escalation of the trade war triggered by Trump’s tweet on Thursday, the stock market plunged while gold rallied.

In May, the company began a C$2 million exploration program focusing higher-grade targets at its Yukon property.

The Productivity Commission will look at best-practice examples of regulation that will remove unnecessary costs for mining companies.

After the first half of the year, gold gained more than 10 percent, rising from $1,279 at the end of December 2018 to $1,409 at the end of June 2019.

The new code is intended to improve conditions for companies and increase revenue for the state.

The number of greenfield exploration projects drilled dropped from 33 in March to 16 in June, which is the lowest level since the beginning of 2019.

Global benchmark spot gold was on course for a weekly gain, having jumped nearly 2% on an escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions.