Peter Espig is so confident about the future of the mill facility at the Craigmont Mine site that he’s packing up his Vancouver office and hopes to be moved in to his new office in Merritt before the mill begins operations in early May.

“Especially in smaller communities like Merritt, in order to be accepted into the community, it’s  my belief you have to become part of the community,” said Espig, the president and chief executive officer with Nicola Mining Inc. “We’re in the process of clearing out our head office in Vancouver and in the process of moving everything and opening up shop in Merritt.”

Espig, who has worked in mining and heavy industry in numerous countries around the world, said his company is thrilled about ramping up production at the Craigmont Mine site milling operation starting the first week in May.

The plan was originally to begin production in the middle of April, but those plans were put on hold after a “huge snow dump” covered the Merritt area a few weeks ago.

Things have changed significantly at the Craigmont Mine site, which decades ago was the largest open pit copper mine on the planet, said Espig.

The huge mill complex, which he estimates to be a “$50 million asset” has only been used at full production for seven months since it was built, from the fall of 2012 until 2013, and the ability to purchase this state-of-the-art facility at a reasonable price is certainly good news for his burgeoning mining company, said Espig.

Nicola Mining’s 200 tonne per day mill will undergo modifications that will allow it to gravity separate fine free gold, prior to floating the remaining material in floatation tanks. It will begin in early May, and he expects it to take roughly four months before full production can be achieved, said Espig.

Nicola Mining’s mill is situated on 900 acres and was constructed to allow floatation expansion, and is fed by a primary crushing circuit that has a 500-tonne daily capacity, he said.

On the Nicola Mining website, it states the company has invested $8 million in the cost of the land, $21.6 million for the cost of the mill and related infrastructure, and $1.8 million for the cost of the construction of a fully-lined tailings facility.

Nicola Mining has signed deals with four high-grade gold producers in British Columbia and the goal is to mill quality product every day, he said.

“There are a lot of low-grade, high-volume production facilities in this province,” he said. “We want to produce low-volume, high-grade gold that provides outstanding value to the market.”

There will be roughly 10 full-time production staff at the site when milling begins and he expects that number to double once full production targets are met within four or five months, said Espig.

“I tend to be a perfectionist … and very meticulous,” he said. “I don’t want to ramp things up too quickly until we know exactly how things work and we can eliminate mistakes. There are always going to be things that go wrong when you ramp up a large facility like this, but our company will focus on getting everything right and running smoothly before we ramp up towards full production.”

Nicola Mining will concentrate solely on gold being found and mined in British Columbia, he said.

“We’re a B.C. mining company and we will be focusing only on the B.C. mining industry,” he said. “There’s already enough mill operations handling gold in other provinces and the United States … we are very confident we will be able to concentrate solely on the B.C. market.”

Concentrating solely on the B.C. market also makes sense from a regulatory perspective as he’s been doing business in this province for many years and knows most of the rules and regulations dealing with government and First Nation concerns, said Espig.

Moving the company’s headquarters to Merritt will allow him to get a quick read on the business climate in this community and make connections much easier than working out of Vancouver, said Espig.

“The best way to address concerns and answer questions is to be right there in town or at the worksite,” he said.

Espig said he’s looking forward to having a successful and profitable operation at the Craigmont Mine site for many years to come.

“People ask me if I get excited, but that’s not how I operate,” he said. “I get excited when I watch my kids play sports and spend time with my family.

“When it comes to getting this business up and running, I know a lot needs to be done and I’m focused on that. A big part of my career has been jumping in to fix failing businesses and I’m ready and willing to take on this challenge. I wouldn’t call it exciting, but I am looking forward to it. This is what I do and I’m ready to make this happen.”