Galantas Gold Corp (AIM:GAL, TSX-V:GAL, OTC:GALKF) said longhole drilling has commenced in the first series of stopes, marking the start of the production process at the Omagh project in Northern Ireland.
Installation of the secondary egress from the 1,096 to 1,052 level is in the final stage of completion and is expected to be commissioned in approximately two weeks followed by the blasting of the stopes.
A series of five stopes will be mined in the first block, using the longhole open-stoping method with cemented rockfill as the method of backfill.
The stopes will be mined between the 1,072 and 1,060 levels on the Kearney Vein.
The first series of accredited training courses through the Mineral Products Qualification Council (MPQC) has been completed and a group of miners from the project have received their certificates, Galantas added.
Mario Stifano, chief executive, said: “Galantas has now entered the next significant phase of the company's growth as we commence underground production.”