WHITEHALL — With 135 workers losing their jobs Monday, the last open-pit gold mine in Whitehall is ceasing operations.
The Montana Standard reports that the Golden Sunlight Mine handed pink slips to its employees Monday. Mine operator Barrick Gold Corp., of Toronto, announced the layoffs in mid-September. The mine has been in operation since the 1980s.
The mine will retain 34 employees to provide support for an underground gold mining project and to process the underground ore.
General Manager Dan Banghart says the remaining skeleton crew will continue ongoing environmental compliance.
Banghart says the layoffs are due to a weak gold market that has dipped significantly in the past four years. He says geotechnical concerns also limited safe access to open pit mining.