Earnscleugh gold mine workers say they were shocked to learn they would be made redundant next month as they thought they had another three years of work ahead at the mine.
• Hopes mine staff will find other jobs
''We pretty much thought the contract would go through to 2017 - that's what we'd been told a few months ago - so we thought things were cruising along quite nicely,'' one of the 35 mine workers said yesterday.
The man, who declined to be named, said workers were told at a meeting on Friday the mine was stopping its operation next month.
''When we got called in at the end of our shift, you sort of had a bit of a feeling it wasn't going to be good news; it wasn't going to be a box of beer for the crew,'' the man said.
The news still took them by surprise.
''We had no idea it was in the pipeline so it was a bit of a kick in the guts, especially for those with young families relying on them.
"And a few people had only been in their jobs for two to three weeks.''
''It's a bit hard for everyone, not knowing where they'll end up.
"Most of the staff were locals with a few from outside the area shifting here to work on the mine.''
The worker said staff understood Mintago had no choice but to close the operation, because of the exchange rates and lowering price for gold, but hoped the project would be mothballed rather than cancelled.
However, he was ''pretty confident'' about being able to find a new job.
''There's a few jobs around, so it's looking OK, I think, and hopefully most people will find something in Central and be able to stay on here.''
Staff were told yesterday afternoon seven workers would stay on for six months, for the site ''clean-up''.
''That's not really much of a saviour though, is it?'' the man said.
