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The St. Lawrence Zinc facility in Balmat. Photo: Google Earth.
Montreal firm plans to buy Gouverneur zinc mines
Gouverneur, NY, Feb 25, 2013 — A Canadian company has signed a letter of intent to buy the zinc mines outside Gouverneur for $12 million. Beaufield Resources says it plans to hire workers this year.
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In a press release, Beaufield president Kevin Weston said the zinc mines in Balmat “have the possibility to become a revenue generator” in the near future. Beaufield will buy the mines from HudBay Minerals, the company that closed them in 2008 when zinc prices fell. Two hundred people lost their jobs.
HudBay would retain a less than 10 percent share in the mines, worth about $2 million. Beaufield would make three $4 million payments over a year.
Weston told the Watertown Daily Times the company could begin hiring within 90 days.
Beaufield has signed an exclusivity agreement but the purchase isn’t a done deal. Two other Canadian companies, OMT Incorporated and New York Zinc, tried to buy the mines late last year but couldn’t raise the money.
