The miner said it has earmarked US$1.5 million for an update to the facility, which was in shutdown but remained in very good condition.

Operating permits are already in-hand, including a certificate of authorisation from the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change for the processing of 1.8 million tonnes of tailings over about nine years assuming full capacity processing rates.

Monarques has retained SNC-Lavalin for the engineering work that will be needed to upgrade the plant and restart the tailings management facility. In May the company will be filing an updated closure plan with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources; commissioning can commence once that approval is received.

"This is a strategic decision for Monarques, as we expect to be able to operate the Beacon mill at full capacity for a long time," president and CEO Jean-Marc Lacoste said.

"We are also proud to have excess demand for our custom milling services, as it reflects the quality of the service provided by our employees at the Camflo mill, which is currently operating at full capacity. These activities are also profitable for Monarques … and will be even more so once we are producing at our full authorised capacity of 2,350t-per-day for the Beacon and Camflo mills."

Beacon is located just 10km from the company's Beaufor mine and has easy road and rail access.