Barkerville, B.C. – Call it a return to the gold rush in the Cariboo.

Barkerville Gold Mines has poured its first gold bar from the QR Mine and Mill near the historic B.C. Mining town. The bar, weighing approximately 9.77 kg, was poured last week with another larger bar set for production today.

The company says the milestone marks the beginning of continuous full gold production at the mine and mill. Barkerville Gold Mines says it plans to pour gold dore every five or six days and should be able to produce about 50,000 ounces of gold in its first year of operation.

The QR Mill will be initially run at a 600-tonne per day rate, ramping up to capacity over the next several months.   The company says pre-production development continues at the QR property’s West Zone.

The surface diamond drill is continuing exploration in a separate area at QR, the North Zone, located approximately 265 to 300 metres below the QR Mill. The North Zone is drill indicated to be the largest mineralized zone at QR and is the next zone slated for development and mining.