Golden Band Resources has announced it is suspending its mining operations — beginning January 1st.
That includes work at the Roy Lloyd and Golden Heart mines and the Jolu mill.
CEO Paul Saxton says weak gold prices are the main reason why, and the company hasn’t been getting the grades it would like.
Saxton says approximately 200 workers will be affected by the shutdown, the majority of whom are in Northern Saskatchewan:
“We’re going to be looking at every aspect of the operation and try to make it better into the future. It’s unfortunate it had to happen right now but the company was suffering significant losses every month and it just can’t continue.”
At this point Saxton anticipates the shutdown will be for half-a-year but it could be longer depending on gold prices.
He says some workers will be staying though to help with the shutdown and to maintain the machinery.