WHITEHALL — More than three-fourths of the employees at the Golden Sunlight Mine near Whitehall will be out of a job at the end of November as the mine is scaling back production.
The Montana Standard reports that general manager Daniel Banghart announced Wednesday that about 140 employees who work primarily in the open pit operations, maintenance and processing area will be offered severance packages. About 34 employees will remain to support the facility’s processing and contract underground mining operations.
Banghart says the decision is due to the weak gold market, which has dipped significantly in the past four years. He also cited geotechnical concerns in the Mineral Hall Pit limiting safe access to open pit mining and a lack of adequate mill feed as a result of limited surface mining.