Photo by: Bloomberg
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Mexico-focused primary silver miner Great Panther Silver on Monday reported that about 60 people had on Sunday illegally occupied its Guanajuato mine complex.
The Vancouver-based miner, which also operates the Topia mine in the country, said that it had to shut down mining, plant and administration services until the situation had been resolved.
All employees and contractors were reported safe and accounted for, and were off site. There had also been no reports of any violence.
The authorities have been notified but have not yet taken action, the miner said.
"It appears that a few members of the mining cooperative who sold the mine to Great Panther in 2005, when they were facing bankruptcy, are behind this illegal occupation of our facilities.
“It is unknown at this time whether these members of the cooperative have been involved with recent activities of illegal miners. We will work with municipal, state and federal authorities to find a peaceful and expedient resolution to this situation; however, we are currently reviewing all options to regain custody of our facility and ensure the security of our operations and our people,” president and CEO Robert Archer said.
TSX- and NYSE-listed Great Panther is in the process of developing its San Ignacio project, with a view to production in the first half of this year, and has two exploration projects, El Horcon and Santa Rosa.
The company’s TSX-listed stock traded 8.51% lower at C$1.29 a share on Monday.