Scotgold Resources has outlined various optimisation initiatives, for which the gold and silver mine is in discussions with debt providers to help fast-tack implementation.
The company's interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2021 revealed total revenues of £3.6m during the period, although losses before tax were rose to £3.03m, from £1.6m during the same period last year.
Cash at the end of the year stood at £551,000 - down from £1.48m at the the end of June last year.
Despite depleted financial resources, Scotgold hailed "significant progress" at the Cononish mine near Tyndrum.
Chief executive Phil Day called it a "transformative time" for the business, which implemented initiatives to increase gold recoveries and in turn improve the mine's production profile.
"During the past quarter we have been focused on preparing the access to the second cut and fill stope at Cononish and I’m pleased to report we accessed it as of 21 March 2022.
"This is a pivotal moment in our mine development plan, allowing us to access reserve mine gold grade more readily, which should see our gold grades increase significantly inline with our mine plan during 2022 and beyond."
Chairman Peter Hetherington explained that during the calendar year to the fourth quarter of 2021, the mine produced 1,508 ounces of gold and 7,200 ounces of silver, with December being a record month in terms of gold concentrate, with 101 tonnes produced to date.
The optimisation initiatives planned for this year included introducing a tailings thickener - technology to improve the throughput and recoveries of concentrate product in the processing plant.
As previously announced, Scotgold is also currently waiting on a due diligence report regarding installing an ore sorter at the processing plant, between the existing crushing unit and the mill.
"We believe, if installed, it will increase the ounces of gold processed per tonne at lower tonnages and potentially lower capital expenditure and operational expenditure of Cononish," stated Hetherington. "If approved, the ore sorter is planned to be operational by the end of the first quarter 2023 and will help achieve phase two expansion production development, with the target of achieving average annual run rate gold production of 23,500oz."
As well as the site a Cononish, Scotgold has 13 licences covering a 2,900km position of the Dalradian Belt and has identified three prospective areas close to the existing mine. "It’s our intention to explore these as part of our wider growth strategy," the chair added.
Operating in Scotland’s first national park, The Trossachs, the company noted its duty of care to the environment.
"As part of our commitment to sustainability we have undertaken numerous initiatives, including no use of cyanide at Cononish and implementing dry stack tailings, rather than conventional wet tailings that sadly have seen terrible mismanagement and accidents over the years at mine sites globally.
Dry stack tailings help turn waste into sand-like material before placing into gullies, allowing them to match the natural landscape.
"In line with our commitment to reduce CO2 emissions, we are reviewing the use of hydro power at site and will update the market accordingly on this initiative," noted Hetherington.
As at 31 December, Scotgold had 73 employees, which has now increased 27% to 93 employees as of 28 February. "We have ambitious growth plans to continue to increase our headcount during 2022," the statement added.
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