Brigus Gold reports strong gold production in the first part of this year at its Black Fox open pit-underground complex east of Timmins.
The Halifax-headquartered company reported April 24 that 16,922 ounces were produced in the first quarter and forecasts annual gold produced of somewhere between 77,000 and 85,000 ounces for 2012.
The June 2010 merger between Linear Gold and Apollo Gold to create Brigus hasn't been smooth sailing.
Building the underground portion of the Black Fox Mine has taken longer than expected and gold production levels has been below expectations in the second half of last year.
Company president Wade Dawe said through a “series of improvements and management changes,” he is confident the problems of 2011 are behind them.
“Today, the turnaround is well underway, we are beginning to see the results, and we expect this positive trend to continue throughout the year."
The company is expects to produce a steady 25,000 ounces per quarter by year's end.
The underground development at Black Fox has 21 stopes open with approximately 30 stopes expected to be open by the third quarter of this year. The company said the underground ore body is open for expansion with grades that trend higher at depth. “We are confident the mine will prove to be a long-life mining assets for Brigus," said Dawe.
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