Buoyant gold prices have prompted Australia's Dragon Mining unit Polar Mining to reopen its gold mine in Orivesi, southern Finland, in the next few months, the firm said on Tuesday.
"We started the preparation work last August and plan to reopen the mine in June-July," Polar Mining's operations manger Heimo Poyry told Reuters.
Spot gold prices have doubled in the past five years and are currently just 7 percent lower than a 26-year peak of $730 hit in May 2006.
Compared to the end of last year, gold prices are currently up 5.5 percent at $672.7. High prices have made many gold mine projects feasible again.
The gold content at Orivesi deposit is 9.5 grams per tonne and forecast annual production 2 tonnes, equivalent to 64,302 ounces.
The plan is to keep the mine open for as many years as possible and to explore for new deposits nearby, Poyry said."This deposit lasts for a couple of years' operations, but we are constantly looking for more."
Orivesi mine was previously owned by Outokumpu and produced about 13 tonnes of gold between 1994 and 2003.
Polar Mining has another gold mine project in Huittinen, southwest Finland, but building the new mine there has been halted by a complaint about its environmental impact.
Environmental authorities had given permission for the project, but people living near the project have taken the case to court.
Poyry declined to say how long the lawsuit might take, but said the company could open the mine about six months after the decision, if it was again given the go-ahead.
The Huittinen deposit has a gold grade of 5.2 grams per tonne.
Source : asia.news.yahoo.com
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