Colorado-based Newmont Corporation’s Musselwhite mine, in Ontario, has reached the milestone of pouring its 8 000th gold doré bar since the mine started with commercial production in 1997.
The mine is one of the largest gold mines in Canada and the world, having produced more than five-million ounces of gold in the last 25 years.
GM Mark Kiessling says the milestone is testament to the hard work and dedication of the 1 000 employees and contractors at the Musselwhite mine, since a range of diverse skill sets are required to produce doré gold, including mining, milling, warehousing, human resources, sustainability and maintenance.
The mine poured its 8 000th gold doré bar despite some recent challenges including a conveyor fire in 2019 that halted production for nearly a year and intermittent shutdowns owing to Covid-19.
Newmont says it used these pauses in production to understand how to operate more efficiently and position the mine for long-term success.
“The hard work is paying off. Now, more than a quarter century into operation, there remains great exploration potential at Musselwhite. If you look at where the operation was in 2019, you can see the improvements in development now, from ore tons to gold ounces mined, and we expect that trend to continue,” Kiessling states.