Toronto-based Bachelor Lake Gold Mines (TSE) says it will send 20,000 tons of broken gold ore from its mine near Desmaraisville, Que., to be processed at Minnova’s (TSE) Lac Shortt mill.
Lac Shortt is expected to mill the last batch of its own ore by the end of March.
The project will give Bachelor Lake some breathing room while the provincial and federal governments mull over a proposal to reopen the mine using government financing. The company has kept Bachelor Lake from flooding since production ceased in the summer of 1989.
“The operation is designed to generate enough cash to satisfy crucial suppliers, such as Hydro Quebec,” said President Herbert Gasser. The company’s secured creditors have signed a 3-month standstill agreement to allow the ore to be processed. Bachelor Lake owes its mining contractors and bondholders a total of more than $4 million.
Gasser believes the mine could be viable at a gold price of about US$355 and expects a decision from the government by the end of June. Reserves stand at 597,000 tons grading 0.3 oz. gold per ton below the 12th level and 582,500 tons at 0.21 oz. above the 12th level.
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