Northgate Minerals expects to spend $1.4 million this year on examining the prospects of an underground gold and copper mine project in northern B.C.
Northgate's Kemess South project finished production in March after 13 years of operations, but the company is continuing work to resurrect the nearby Kemess North project as an underground mine.
The company first announced it was trying to resurrect the project last year after the Kemess North mine was rejected as an open pit mine by a federal regulatory panel in 2007.
Northgate's outgoing president and CEO, Ken Stowe, said today a preliminary underground mining design plan for Kemess North is expected to be ready by this summer. Stowe said he is confident they would take the next step to commission a feasibility study, a critical element in determining, in detail, a mine's economic viability.
"I am personally convinced (the Kemess North underground mine) is a project in today's world," Stowe said at the company's annual general meeting where a $19.8-million profit was announced.
The existing Kemess South mine's milling facilities have been mothballed, and employees are leaving.
About 350 people worked at the mine, some of them living in Prince George. The city was also a supply and service centre for the mine.
Mining equipment that would not be needed for the Kemess North underground mine is also being sold off. The Toronto-based company has already sold off $19 million in equipment, and expects to sell more.
