Hycroft to suspend mining, lay off workers

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 1998 | 3:51 a.m.

Hank Lesinski, general manager at the mine near Winnemucca, told The Humboldt Sun that mining could resume when gold prices rebound.

The mine's workforce will be reduced from 98 to 62 by the end of September as mining in Hycroft's Brimstone Pit winds down, Lesinski said.

Hycroft's parent company, Vista Gold, originally announced its intent to suspend operations and lay off workers in May. But the company deferred the action when ore from the Brimstone Pit proved to be of higher grades and volumes than expected.

In spite of the impending suspension, the mine reported record gold production during the first two quarters of this year.

The mine produced 35,171 ounces of gold in the second quarter, for a six-month total of 70,188. That is nearly 10,000 ounces more than produced during the first half of last year.

Vista Gold said it has examined various options that will allow resumption of mining when gold prices return to more normal levels.

In addition, the company is pursuing the possibility of a joint venture to explore the property further.

"We have had discussions with a number of companies about an exploration venture on the entire property," Lesinski said.

"We know there's a very large gold-bearing system under both the oxide orebodies we have mined," he said. "There's a big system and there's gold in it, but we have not been able to allocate the resources to drill on it."