Green light for Goldfields to start up Taylor mine – by Alan S. Hale (Timmins Daily Press – November 11, 2015)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

BLACK RIVER-MATHESON – St. Andrew Goldfields has received approval from the provincial government to begin commercial production at the Taylor Mine, located 53 kilometres east of Timmins.

The project’s closure plan received final approval from the mining project from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines last week.

“We are pleased to declare Taylor the newest mine in Ontario, one which we anticipate will bolster the company’s gold production profile for 2016 by 40,000 to 50,000 ounces and provide much-needed jobs and economic benefits to the communities of the region,” said Duncan Middlemiss, the president and chief executive officer of St. Andrew Goldfields in a statement.

“The mine is expected to be a significant contributor in the future as we are ramping up to full production by the end of this year.”

This is St. Andrew Goldfields’ first new mine since the company made the transition earlier this year from being contractor to an independent producer.

The company has been working on getting the Taylor Mine site ready for commercial gold production for the past three-and-a-half years. Most of the work in the past two years has been on establishing the mine and the necessary infrastructure at the site.

Keyvan Salehi, vice-president of corporate development, told The Daily Press, “In terms of development, a lot of that is done. But on a going-forward basis we will be continuing our exploration both underground and on the surface in order to find more resources. What changes with the permit is that we can actually produce ore and process it in our mill.”

Now that they have the go-ahead to begin commercial production, there are plans for new jobs opportunities in the future.

“For sure, now that we have our permit for making gold there will be some additional opportunities for employment,” confirmed Salehi, although he couldn’t speak to how many jobs there might be or when they would begin hiring. “These are exciting times. We are basically opening up a new mine in the Porcupine/Abitibi region.”

For the original source of this article, click here: http://www.timminspress.com/2015/11/10/green-light-for-goldfields-to-start-up-taylor-mine