Milestone as first gold comes out of Cononish mine in Trossachs park after years of preparation

Scotgold Resources, the company behind the development of a precious metals mine near Tyndrum, has hailed the first phase of gold production at the site.

Scotgold Resources, which is behind the development of a precious metals mine near Tyndrum, is headed by chief executive Richard Gray.

Chief executive Richard Gray said the firm was “ideally positioned to be at the heart of gold mining in Scotland for many years to come”. The milestone marks several years of exploratory work and site negotiations.

Gray said: “To be on the brink of first pour at the Cononish Gold and Silver Mine, despite the unprecedented challenge of navigating Covid-19 and associated lockdowns, is testament to the professionalism and hard work of both the team at Scotgold and all those connected with the project over the course of the year under review and beyond.

“The commencement of phase one production at Cononish, which will become Scotland’s first commercial gold mine, will transform Scotgold into a production as well as a development and exploration company, one with a defined path to future growth.

“We have the funds in place to accelerate the phase two development of the mine, which is targeting average annual gold equivalent production of 23,500oz compared to 9,910oz during phase one.”

Scotgold Resources was established in 2007 and is listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market.

In a stock market update in September, the firm said construction work at the Cononish site – which was abandoned in 1997 after gold prices slumped – was progressing well and it expected to start production by the end of November.

Scotgold is also beefing up its geoscience team to “unlock the potential” of the area around Cononish as well as in the other areas it is looking to explore at locations including Glen Orchy, Glen Lyon and the Ochils.

In addition to Cononish, Scotgold’s interests include the Grampian exploration project made up of 13 option agreements with the Crown Estate Scotland, across an area of just under 3,000 square kilometres.

After the recent trading update, analysts said the company was on course to bring the Cononish Gold and Silver Project into production “at what turns up to be the best possible time”.

Gold has traditionally been seen as a safe haven amid periods of economic turmoil.

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