https://www.miningweekly.com

Barrick Gold says Veladero output not impacted by suspension ruling

23rd September 2015

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

BUENOS AIRES – Production at Barrick Gold's Veladero mine, in Argentina, has not been impacted by a court-order suspending the pumping of cyanide solution for the gold leaching process, the company said on Wednesday.

A judge in the western San Juan province, where the openpit mine is located, on Tuesday ordered pumping be halted until the company presents an improved operation and maintenance plan after a defective valve led to a cyanide leak.

While Judge Pablo Oritja's order prevents Barrick delivering more cyanide solution into leach pads, a Barrick official said it could use liquid already pumped into the leaching system.

"Veladero continues to produce using the cyanide solution that was already in the leaching valley," Barrick said in a statement.

A company official could not confirm how long operations could continue before more cyanide solution would be required to maintain operations. The technical plan requested by the judge would be completed soon, the official said.

The judge had initially ordered a five-day halt to the pumping of cyanide, but has now extended the suspension until he is satisfied improved safety measures are in place.

Oritja ordered Barrick constantly monitor its operations to prevent another leak in the future. The miner has said the September 13 leak was detected almost immediately and that there had been no contamination of nearby rivers.

RBC Capital Markets told clients in a briefing note that it did not expect the incident to have a material impact on the company's 2015 production or costs.

The Veladero mine produced 722 000 oz of gold last year and is forecast contribute about 10% of Barrick's 2015 gold output, RBS Capital said.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION