Pybar has recently signed a contract with Aurelia Metals to carry out all underground development and production mining activities at Peak Mines near Cobar, New South Wales, Australia.

The mining contractor has been at the operation since October 2017, providing underground development services and then labour hire to support the existing workforce, it said. This followed Aurelia Metals acquiring the operation from Toronto-listed New Gold.

Pybar CEO Brendan Rouse said: “We have a long-standing partnership with mine owner Aurelia having been contracted at its Hera (gold-lead-zinc) project since it started in 2013. We look forward to further strengthening that relationship, and our ties with the local Cobar community, as we expand our presence at Peak.”

The company said it is currently working closely with Aurelia to ensure ongoing employment for the Aurelia workforce at Peak Mines, should personnel choose to transfer. Some 40 additional new positions are also available at the site which Pybar is seeking to fill to achieve the increased production schedule.

The Pybar team at Peak Mines will be ramping up over the next few months with an initial tenure of five years and the potential to extend.

Peak Mines consists of a series of polymetallic high-grade orebodies dominated by gold, copper and zinc. There is a 750,000 t/y processing plant there, which takes ore from two underground mines.