This week, we sit down with CEO and Managing Director of Scotgold Resources (LON: SGZ) Phil Day to discuss the company’s current mining operations in Scotland and its plans moving forward.
Phil Day is a highly experienced senior mining executive with a career spanning over 25 years in the mining sector. He most recently held the position Head of Technical and Operations at Pala Investments, and concurrently Chief Operating Officer and NED at Sierra Rutile Limited and Nevada Copper Corp, whilst at Pala.
Many listeners may be surprised to hear that there are active gold mining operations taking place in Scotland. This, combined with Day’s impressive resume within the mining industry, makes for an interesting and intriguing episode.
On the Podcast
Scotgold Resources LON:SGZ, initially founded as an Australian company in 2007, engages in mine development and mineral exploration. Today, the company is primarily focused on the development of its high grade Cononish Gold and Silver Project in the Scottish highlands, together with the exploration of highly prospective tenements in the Grampian region of Scotland (the Grampian Gold Project). These assets are held through Scotgold Resources’ 100% owned UK subsidiaries, operated through the company’s UK based management team.
The Cononish project has a resource in the Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories of 541,000 tonnes at 14.3 g/t Au and 59.7 g/t Ag. The project went into initial production in May 2016 with the commissioning of the Bulk Processing Trial plant using ore from its stock pile, pending financing of the full project. The trial, a pilot scale processing trial that aimed to demonstrate the marketability and profitability of Scottish gold production from Cononish, successfully produced the first commercially produced gold in Scotland.
Operational success looks set to continue
Regarding Scotgold Resources’ growth over the next 12 months, Day expects the company’s financial and operational successes to continue. Scotgold Resources reported record production for April and May from its Cononish gold mine in Scotland, with the AIM-traded miner producing a combined 1,984 ounces of gold and 10,810 ounces of silver for the two months. Day revealed the company is on track to achieve the upper quartile and exceed its second-quarter output target of 2,600 – 3,200 ounces of gold.
Day explains how there is yet further scope to increase the efficiency of the Cononish mine, which would both increase profit margins and reduce its carbon footprint. He revealed that Scotgold Resources is also looking to connect to the mains power grid, powered by wind and hydro power, as well as installing solar panels in order to minimise its environmental impact and continue to grow its reputation as one of the most eco-friendly companies within the mining industry.
The business has already achieved extremely low levels of sound and water pollution in the local area and it is continuing to find new ways to comply with the environmental rules imposed by Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, where the Cononish Gold and Silver Project is situated.
