TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Eritrea-focused copper producer Nevsun Resources was unaffected by power supply issues that had forced a temporary halt in concentrate production at its flagship Bisha mine.
Vancouver-based Nevsun reported that the 27-generator-strong third-party-supplied power plant was undergoing routine maintenance when it failed to reliably restart this week.
Nevsun noted that despite the power outages, mining operations continued at full capacity and Bisha continued to truck and export stockpiled concentrates.
The company had already achieved its full-year production guidance of between 180-million pounds and 200-million pounds of copper in concentrate and the plant interruption did not have a negative impact on the company’s 2014 financial results, as it would draw down and sell from stockpiled concentrate inventories.
Bisha’s diesel power plant is provided by Aggreko Power Systems.
Recently, Aggreko replaced nine of the 27 generators as part of scheduled maintenance of the plant. Nevsun said that Aggreko had now sent to the Bisha site the appropriate resources and technical personnel to assess and correct the problem.
The company’s TSX-listed stock was trending negatively on Monday, changing hands at C$4.30 apiece in afternoon trading.