White River mine owner plans improvements

The new owner of a gold mine near White River plans to spend $32 to $41 million in the next two years to boost productivity, cut operating costs and lay the groundwork for a long-term operating base.

Silver Lake Resources bought Harte Gold, owner of the Sugar Zone mine, on Feb. 18. Harte sought creditor protection in late 2021.

Most of the cash, $24.8 million, will be spent on processing improvements including the "latest generation" drilling, loading and haulage fleet to replace equipment currently used. Most of those vehicles are more than a decade old. The new fleet will phased in over two years and cost about $14.4 million to $16.2 million.

The site's effluent treatment plant will be upgraded and automated. A ceramic disk filter in the mine's processing facility will be replaced with a vacuum disk filter. The replacement will allow increased dry stack tailings capacity and complement a new paste fill plant installation, related pumping, surface and underground infrastructure. The paste fill system can back a production rate topping 1,000 tonnes per day. The paste fill plant will be built in 2023 and 2024.

Silver Lake, an Australian intermediate gold producer, spent $1.8 million on capital projects and equipment during the second quarter. A fleet renewal process started with the purchase of a loader and underground light vehicles and project engineering work.

"Silver Lake commenced implementation of its operating structure, in particular the introduction of systems and procedures in parallel with the recruitment of experienced technical staff and deployment of incumbent Silver Lake staff to support the operating model," the company says.

Silver Lake's priorities include boosting productivity and "target extensions to mineralization within the Sugar Zone's inadequately drilled mineralized strike."

A mine redesign includes simplifying the mine's pumping and dewatering system next year.

Silver Lake is studying moving the camp from White River. The community is about 30 kilometres south of the mine. The move would nix about a 50-minute drive between White River and the mine. The camp relocation could be done in 2024.

Silver Lake wants to increase the peak power supply from Hydro One from 5.5 megawatts to 8.5 megawatts.

"The increased supply will accommodate the forecast increased power loads, predominantly associated with the introduction of the paste plant, associated infrastructure, new crushing facility and increasing underground power requirements associated with increased depth and new lateral mining fronts," the company says.

When Hydro One approves the increase in power supply Silver Lake plans to put in natural gas-fueled generation capacity to support essential needs.

Silver Lake plans to sell 50,000 to 60,000 ounces of gold from Sugar Zone in 2023.

The mine produced 11,636 ounces of gold in the second quarter. That's up from 11,283 ounces during the same three-month period in 2021.

Harte Gold opened the site in October 2018. The mine was expected to produce gold for 12 years.

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