Scotgold strike it lucky in Tyndrum
PROSPECTORS at Scotland’s only gold mine near Tyndrum produced their historic ‘ first pour’ of the precious metal in August, by processing spoil heaps of ore.
Scotgold launched its sixmonth bulk processing trial (BPT) at the Cononish mine on August 3, to produce ‘Scotland’s first gold on a commercial basis’.
‘We’ve produced our first gold,’ Scotgold’s CEO Richard Gray told The Oban Times. ‘We’re accumulating it. We’re putting our foot down.’
Mr Gray expected the first Scottish gold to be available by the end of the year.
‘This is a trial,’ he added. ‘ We’re learning a lot about processing to see what improvements we can make.’
The ‘small- scale, low- cost’ pilot plant, estimated to cost £140,000, aims to process 2,400t of the 7,000t of stockpiled ore, which grades at around 7.9g/t of gold and 39g/t of silver. The company hopes to produce around 150ozs of Scottish gold at Cononish, and a further 350ozs offsite, which can then be sold at a premium.
Scotgold hopes the BPT will demonstrate the marketability and profitability of Scottish gold production from Cononish, and the viability of ethical gold production, where no chemicals will be used onsite.
Instead the ore will be crushed and gravity used to separate out the gold-rich material, which will be smelted into impure bullion bars called doré both on- and offsite. Their first yield of Scottish gold represents ‘a very significant development for the company as it seeks to advance Cononish to full production’, the company stated.
Announcing the BPT in February, Mr Gray said: ‘ In addition to anticipated positive technical results, the trial will produce an historic first pour gold output, sufficient to determine whether there are grounds to review the mine development plan and moreover to establish Cononish as a low- cost, lowrisk, near-term production, gold project.’
Speaking at the official BPT launch in August, when guests could watch the first gold being produced, he added: ‘It is extremely satisfying to be able to celebrate this significant milestone. The achievement of gold production provides tangible evidence of our progress and we appreciate the support of all our stakeholders in getting to this point.’