BC

Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:BGM) has received a permit to process ore from its new Bonanza Ledge gold mine at the QR Mill southeast of Quesnel, BC.

The company expects the mill to provide 40 jobs over at least four years and support mining jobs at Bonanza Ledge, which is to start up during this quarter.

The QR mill was built in 1994 by Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) and operated for three years until it closed in 1997 due to low gold prices.

Cross Lake Minerals acquired the QR mine and mill operation in 2005 and Barkerville acquired it in February 2010.

Barkerville Gold operated the QR mine from September 2010 until December 2011, when it was shut down for seasonal maintenance and to prepare for the Bonanza Ledge startup.

The company has focused on exploration and development of gold projects in the Cariboo region of the B.C. Interior since the mid-1990s.

In 2010, Barkerville Gold and the Lhtako Dene First Nation signed a project agreement in relation to the company's Bonanza Ledge and Cariboo Gold Projects.

"Bringing a mining property to production from its original discovery through to a permitted operation, is an achievement that involves a partnership with government, First Nations, local stakeholders and the investment community," Frank Callaghan, Barkerville Gold's president and CEO, said Monday.