Scotland’s first commercial gold mine to open in early 2020

Scotgold Resources (LON: SGZ), the company aiming to open Scotland’s first commercial gold and silver mine, has moved the beginning of commercial production to February 2020 from December of this year, as process plant building and associated civil earthworks at Cononish are behind schedule.

Access to ore is still expected by the end of this year, the company said, adding it plans to stockpile gold and silver in the period leading to the official opening. According to chief executive Richard Gray the move will provide Scotgold with an opportunity to exceed targets later in the year.

As a result of the delay and other cost re-estimates, the London-listed miner said it had revised its funding requirements to an additional £2.5 million (about $3m).

Scotgold envisions an underground mine with an initial production capacity of 23,500 ounces of gold annually, for up to 17 years

The company, which received initial approval for Cononish in 2018, has been working to reopen an abandoned gold mine near Tyndrum for 12 years.

The asset produced its first gold in August 2016 following the launch of an ore processing trial. After the local authorities gave the project their blessing, the company began building a large-scale operation.

Scotgold envisions an underground mine with an initial production capacity of 23,500 ounces of gold annually, for up to 17 years.

The company expects to process around 3,000 tonnes of ore per month in the first phase, which it says will double in phase two.

As many as 52 jobs could be created during production, and the firm has offered nearly £500,000 (about $612K) in payments to support the local community of Tyndrum.

The small village is currently a local tourist destination, known mostly for being at a junction of major transport routes.