Gold miner prepares for commercial production start.

Harte Gold expects to receive commercial production permits for its Sugar Zone gold property by this year's third quarter.

In a May 8 project update, the fledgling White River-area gold miner said it will soon be filing an amended closure plan to include its Sugar Zone deposit, areas now under exploration, and its on-site processing mill.

The company is the midst of an aggressive $15-million infill and step-out drill program at its main Sugar Zone deposit and its satellite Middle and Wolf Zones.

Six drill rigs are turning as part of a 75,000-metre program to test for gold extensions at depth and along strike.

"2017 is shaping up to be a truly transformative year for the company," said Harte Gold president-CEO Stephen G. Roman in a statement.

"We expect to drill more metres this year than the property has seen in its entire history and early results have already demonstrated extensions of mineralization at depth at the Sugar Zone and on-strike and depth at the Middle Zone.

"We are also pressing...