Scotgold flags delays to gold production in Highlands

Scotgold Resources – which is developing a gold and silver mine near Tyndrum – says it is “disappointed” with delays to the Cononish project.

Gray said Scotgold is disappointed with the delay but our team has found solutions to issues. Picture: John Devlin.

The Aim-quoted firm has announced that the development schedule has been extended by 12 weeks and first gold production is now expected in May 2020.

It said delays relate to the management of excavated materials needed to construct the process plant building and for site wide drainage required to create the “dry stack” tailings storage facility. The area of these sites is overlain by peat, but in key areas, greater depths of peat have been encountered than planned for, prompting the need to find new temporary storage areas.

The company has also identified some design detail changes that have had a "minor" impact on the planned schedule.

Chief executive Richard Gray said: “We are obviously disappointed that our eagerly awaited first gold production has been delayed, however proper management of our local environment is our first priority and our team has found solutions to the challenges encountered.”