1,400 ounces of gold found during Yukon mine demolition project.
The Con Mine, located just south of Yellowknife, produced more than 160,000 kilograms of gold between 1938 and 2003. But the contractor now demolishing it says there are millions of dollars in gold left in the old girl yet.
Part of the contract with mine operator, Newmont Mining Corporation, involves remediation of the site. It includes demolition of dozens of unwanted buildings, capping of tailing ponds and the clean-up of soil containing unwanted by-products of gold refining, such as arsenic.
The company supports recycling and is carefully segregating any building materials — such as steel I-beams — that can be recovered. But, among the material still lodged in some of the buildings is gold-rich ore, and dust containing the precious metal in various states of refinement.
“We started demolition in the summer, but work is on hold for the winter, as of the first week of November,” said Bill Lyle, director, reclamation and closure with Newmont. “To date, we’ve probably recovered about 1,400 ounces of gold.”
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