Otso Gold Corp has executed a mining contract with E Hartikainen Oy, one of Finland’s largest mining and construction contractors.

The agreement is for the provision of all mining services at the Otso gold mine, in central Finland, for a term of three years.

As part of the agreement, machinery for mining has begun to be mobilised to site in advance of the start of mining next month.

Brian Wesson stated “The company is pleased to have partnered with Hartikainen at the Otso Gold Mine and looks forward to working together. The execution of the mining contract is an important milestone towards the start of production next month.”

Arto Hartikainen, Managing Director of Hartikainen, said: “We are very happy with Otso Gold Mine’s partnership and we are starting preparation work right away. Safety, quality and productivity will play a key role in the development of our services at the Otso Gold Mine’.

Back in March 2019, Nordic Gold (the previous owners of the mine) terminated its agreement with mining contractor Tallqvist Oy and decided to place the Laiva (now Otso) gold mine on care and maintenance, months after pouring first gold.

In July, following an $11.155  million financing, Otso Gold started its move to production, announcing plans to get back up and running at the 2 Mt/y nameplate operation in the September quarter.