Centerra Gold Inc. said Feb. 5 that it is partially restarting mill operations at its Mount Milligan copper-gold mine in British Columbia.
Mill operations, which were suspended in late December 2017 due to insufficient water resources, are expected to achieve sustainable throughput levels of approximately 30,000 tonnes per day by mid-February.
During the restart phase, the company anticipates a ramp-up period and periodic commissioning downtime.
At this time, the mill is using one ball mill to minimize water requirements. Centerra expects to restart the second ball mill in April, which will restore operations to full capacity.
During the recent shutdown, the company undertook several measures to increase the water flow into the tailings storage facility from which Mount Milligan mill draws all of its water needs.
As a longer-term mitigation measure, the company received an amendment to Mount Milligan's environmental assessment certificate to allow pumping water from a nearby lake and secured additional related permits.
Centerra expects to commence drawing water from the lake by the end of February.
