Work is underway to gauge the life of a northern Saskatchewan gold mine.

The Roy Lloyd Mine started up over a year ago in the La Ronge Gold Belt.

Fifty employees work at the site, and its ore is processed at the nearby Jolu Mill.

Golden Band Resources vice-president Rodney Orr says the company is hoping a recent drilling program will shed some light on how much gold is left to mine.

Orr says the usual life of a mine is 2-3 years, but that can sometimes be extended if enough additional ore is found.

He expects the newest drilling results will give the mine extra life — but he doesn’t yet know how much.