Harte Gold (TSX: HRT) is back on track at its Sugar Zone mine in White River, Ontario. After restarting mining at the end of July and milling in early August, following a temporary shutdown at the end of March, the operation generated 3,200 oz. gold last month, in line with the record monthly output prior to the temporary shutdown.
The mill has consistently operated at, or over, 800 tonnes per day since the restart. In August, it processed an average of 760 tonnes per day, which is a record for the company.
At the mine, underground development rates, both in ore and waste, were ahead of plan last month, with approximately two-thirds of the ramp development to the Middle Zone now complete.
A study is ongoing to evaluate an expansion of the site to 1,200 tonnes per day, with results expected in the fourth quarter.
A prospecting program completed this summer at the TT8 Zone has discovered three new gold showings, which extend the potential strike of the area by 2.5 km to the northeast, while drilling is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter. Near-mine, grade control drilling is ongoing with a second rig scheduled to begin shortly to test extensions of the known mineralization at the Middle Zone and to infill the Middle and Sugar Zone areas.
"The mine has not skipped a beat from where we ended prior to temporary shutdown, and I am confident we can build on this performance going forward," Sam Coetzer, Harte Gold's president and chief executive, said in a statement.
In the first quarter of the year, the Sugar Zone mine churned out 8,597 oz. gold at all-in sustaining costs of US$1,951 per oz., with an average daily processing throughput of 575 tonnes per day.
This year, Harte expects to deliver 20,000-24,000 oz. gold, increasing to 60,000-65,000 oz. by 2021.
Harte wholly owns the 793-sq.-km Sugar Zone mine, 80 km east of the Hemlo gold camp. The underground operation achieved commercial production in January 2019.
- This article first appeared in our sister publication, Canadian Mining Journal