Redfern Resources Ltd. has suspended work at the proposed Tulsequah Chief mine indefinitely, says company president Terry Chandler.

Chandler said the company decided to extend its three-week Christmas shutdown to buy itself more time to sort outstanding permitting matters and financial issues related to the asset-backed commercial paper difficulties.

The proposed restructuring of the ABCP settlement is scheduled to be finalized no later than the end of January, Chandler pointed out in an interview from Vancouver shortly before Christmas.

He said the company is currently working with permitting agencies in Alaska and British Columbia, and he expects those issues could be wound up as early as February.

Redfern felt it was prudent to slow down its construction in these times of economic uncertainty until the outstanding issue have been worked out, though the company is still targeting its startup for the end of next year, he said.

Chandler said slowing down construction now means avoiding the cold-weather work and short daylight hours, time that can be made up during the warmer months with much more daylight.

There were some 80 people working on the site when the shutdown began Dec. 18, he said, adding there is a skeleton crew of four or five at the site to provide for care and maintenance.

While Redfern will continue working its way through the permitting process it will also continue to complete the necessary engineering and design work, Chandler explained.

"There is a lot of people up there wondering about the future, and we want to be able to start up and keep things going."

The historic Tulsequah Chief mine operated briefly in the 1950s.

Redfern has been working at bringing the mine back into production since the 1990s.

It originally proposed a 160-kilometre road from Atlin heading south to the mine site, but decided last year to instead use a method of barging the concentrate down the Taku River and over to Juneau.