Residents of central Newfoundland can expect to start seeing site work at the Valentine Lake Gold mine project by late this summer.

Marathon Gold‘s property near Red Indian Lake is the largest gold deposit in all of Atlantic Canada. The project got the provincial environmental green light last week, allowing permitting and engineering work to begin.

Marathon Gold President and CEO Matt Manson calls Valentine Lake significant.

The company expects the mine to produce about 173,000 ounces of gold a year, which is a significant gold production profile, says Manson. The mine life is estimated at approximately 13 years, but it could be longer than that.

The project is expected to employ some 400 people which is good news for residents of Buchans, Buchans Junction, Millertown, Badger, Grand Falls-Windsor and Bishop’s Falls.

Manson says the mining operation will start with two open-pit mines approximately six km apart, with a central mill between them. Site work could begin as early as late summer, depending on the ongoing approval process.