Galantas Gold Corp (LON:GAL, CVE:GAL) chief executive Roland Phelps highlighted continuing improvements at the Omagh mine as underground development advances.
The company, in a quarterly results statement, said it expects the underground gold mine will restart producing concentrate from development ore in the early part of the third quarter.
“The anticipated start of operations at the flotation plant in coming months marks a milestone in underground operations,” Phelps said.
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“We continue to invest in improved equipment and training of personnel and expect to accelerate this as cash is generated from operations."
Galantas highlighted that the development project will use the same processing methods as the previous open-pit, which shut after resources were exhausted.
Omagh will become Ireland’s first underground gold mine. It is being developed through a phased approach, allowing for further expansion as more capital becomes available.
The company noted that the mill has now been recommissioned.
In the mine, the first underground development ore was expected to reached by the end of June but the company now believes it may be reached sooner.
Presently, the team is using a drilling rig that was selected for training and early development purposes -because of a delay in the delivery of key equipment – though the company said the interim measure has been performing ahead of expectations.
Nonetheless, the subsequent receipt of new drilling equipment on loan has now led to a significant improvement in advance rate, the company said. Additionally, a further 27 personnel have been added to the workforce.
In terms of the financial results, the company reported a net loss of US$524,498 for the three months ended March 31 and it ended the quarter with US$182,513 of cash.