Sumitomo Metal Mining Co and Sumitomo Corp have decided to boost their investment in the Pogo gold mine in Alaska to 378 mln usd from 357 mln usd, the companies said.

The Pogo gold mine is managed by a joint venture involving Teck Cominco Ltd, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corp.

The increased investment will allow the installation of a third filter and the modification of the handling system for filtered tailings, with the purpose of boosting production capacity.

After this work is completed in the first quarter of next year, the Pogo gold mine will be able to operate at full capacity, but until then it is expected to operate at some 60 pct of designed capacity, the companies said.