PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed junior Havilah Resources on Monday announced that mining at its Portia gold mine, in South Australia, has been temporarily suspended as the contract miner assessed safety concerns.

The Portia mine produced its first gold ore in March this year, more than three months ahead of originally scheduled.

However, Havilah said on Monday that the Portia openpit wall has experienced a slip in an area which was previously mined, adding that the area had been showing signs of movements for several months, both visibly and on laser scans.

The movement was being closely monitored, the company added.

As a precaution, contract miner Consolidated Mining and Civil has temporarily suspended their mining operations in order to allow geotechnical experts to study the geometry of the slip and carry out back calculations of the material strength.

This slip provides critical live data that could be used to test, recalibrate and update paste geotechnical models. The objective was to provide updated guidance on the safest and best mine design going forward in order to minimise the risk of any future pit wall slips.

Havilah has, meanwhile, continued with the development of its Portia gold project, in Western Australia, announcing on Monday that after two weeks of commissioning, its processing plant was now processing high-grade gold ore.

“We are pleased to have commissioned our gold plant and see it operating according to design,” said Havilah MD Chris Giles.

“Although I have often said it is a simple gravity plant, there is no room for error if we are to maximise gold recoveries.”

Giles said that despite the temporary suspension in mining, Havilah had ‘plenty of ore stockpiles’, which would meant that production of gold from the processing plant would not be affected while geotechnical studies at the mine were being carried out.