The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor More than two decades after a devastating closure, the potential restart of a long-idle gold mine near Sherridon may be one step closer. Auriga Gold Corp. announced this week it has hired consultants to study the costs and logistics of bringing the Puffy Lake Mine back into production. "The technical and environment work they will perform is a key milestone," said Auriga CEO Richard Sutcliffe, as the "project enters the development phase and we move toward making a production decision." While no financial figures have been finalized, Sutcliffe believes Auriga would have to spend $20 million to $30 million to reactivate the mine. A decision on whether to restart is expected in the first half of 2012. Auriga has employed AECOM Canada Ltd., a branch of a leading global consulting firm, to devise a cost estimate for the reactivation of the Puffy Lake mill. AECOM will review existing technical and production data for the flotation mill and develop a start-up plan for refurbishing the facility and its ancillary infrastructure. Blair Greenly, who has managed a number of facility design and upgrade projects at mine sites, will lead the AECOM engineering team. Operating terms Auriga has also engaged Minneapolis-based Parks Environ-mental Inc. to review the operating terms for Puffy Lake's existing permits and develop an environmental baseline study for the mine and an adjacent prospect. This work will include confirming the requirements for dewatering the mine and for bringing the mine and mill infrastructure into operation. Parks will also consult with federal and provincial regulating bodies concerning the potential restart of the mine. The process will be led by Derek Parks, who has worked on various Manitoba and Ontario mine projects to secure permits and agreements with the regulatory agencies and First Nations. Sutcliffe estimates a reopened Puffy Lake would need roughly 100 employees. Based on known reserves, the mine would last three to four years, though Auriga is optimistic more ore will be discovered. The company expects to take the key step of releasing a guideline-compliant resource estimate of the property this summer. See 'Hiring..' on pg. 7 Coneinued from pg. 1 The hiring of the consultants follows the release earlier this year of drill results at the site that Sutcliffe termed "encouraging." Together, the Puffy Lake Mine and the adjacent Nokomis Property constitute what Auriga calls the Maverick Gold Project. It is located 65 km northeast of Flin Flon, near the tiny former mining town of Sherridon. Auriga has said the mill and concentrator remain in "excellent condition." This isn't the first time efforts have been made to restart Puffy Lake. In the mid-1990s, the former owner, Pioneer Metals, developed a new operating plan that was ultimately never put into practice. Puffy Lake produced over 28,000 ounces of gold in 1988 and 1989.10/6/11
