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More than 12 years after it closed, Ressources Appalaches’s (TSX-V:APP) Dufferin Mine is again producing gold—and jobs—owing to higher prices for the precious metal.
The company is working to increase production and reach full capacity of 300 tonnes of ore per day by August. According to a report by CTV Atlantic, the aim is to produce 25,000 ounces of gold annually.
The Quebec-based company said in a statement that the entire production circuit—mining, milling and concentration—is in operation. Average plant production in June came to more than 50%, with peaks in excess of 200 tonnes per day.
“Work is currently concentrated on optimization of the dore smelting furnace, on the adjustment of the laboratory and the installation of new equipment to optimize the concentration of gold,” the company said.
Jobs aplenty
Eighty people are working full time at the mine site, including 20 miners, 15 plant operators and teams of geologists, engineers, mechanics and electricians. The facility operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with groups of workers in rotation.
Under a different operator Dufferin closed in 2001, after running for only eight months, when the price of gold fell to around $300 an ounce. More than a dozen years later, the mine resumed operations in April this year, with the gold price having risen significantly.
“The project is continuing to advance closer to sustained full production capacity and we are proud to begin producing gold in Nova Scotia,” said Alain Hupe, Ressources Appalaches president and CEO.
Gold mining is experiencing a major comeback in Nova Scotia, where several other projects are currently in the works.
