Canada's Titan Mining is preparing to reopen the former St. Lawrence Zinc Co. underground mine near Gouverneur in northern New York state in January 2018, a company official said Thursday.
Keith Boyle, chief operating officer for the Toronto-based company, told S&P Global Platts in an interview that the mine, which has been renamed the Empire State Mine, is expected to resume production of zinc in late January.
By the end of 2018, Titan plans to ramp up the mine's production to about 1,800 mt/day, grading 9.4% zinc. Titan believes the site currently has sufficient reserves for an eight-year mine life, although the company is looking into possibly extending the mine's longevity.
Boyle said the company is in negotiations with metals traders and has not finalized any offtake agreements for the zinc.
Titan, which has no other mines, decided to get into the zinc mining business because of the runup in prices during the past year, he said.
In late October, the company raised C$50 million ($39.03 million) in an initial public offering that is being used to finance the mine rehabilitation and startup.
The mine's former owner, HudBay Minerals, shut it down in 2008 during a period of low zinc prices.
According to Boyle, the mine is expected to have about 180 employees once the production ramp-up is completed in late 2018.
