GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. — A decade after closing, a St. Lawrence County zinc mine is back in operation.
The Empire State Mine, restarted in March following rehabilitation work begun last fall, has more than 200 employees, said owner Titan Mining Corporation in a release.
The mine had been closed since 2008. Its reopening was helped by an allocation of low-cost power from the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in Massena, according to a NYPA release.
At a ceremony this week, Titan officials, including former New York State Gov. George Pataki, cut a ribbon officially opening the mine.
Output from the mine has increased from 443 tons in March to 776 tons in May, according to the company release.
Keith Boyle, Titan’s COO, said things were going well. “Overall, the positive momentum at the mine should make for a strong second half of 2018 as more stopes are developed.” Stopes are areas of mines where material has been extracted.
Pataki, New York governor from 1999 to 2006, serves as one of Titan’s four directors. The company, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, is publicly held.