PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Brazilian gold miner Orinoco Gold is expected to resume gold production from its Cascavel project by next week, after a nation-wide truck strike ended.
The company in May switched off all milling and processing facilities as the strike continued unabated, warning at the time that mining operations were also in jeopardy of being suspended if the strike was not resolved.
Orinoco told shareholders on Wednesday that first fuel was now scheduled to arrive at the mine site by the end of this week, along with critical spares.
Gold pour would resume early to mid next week from the ore produced during May, prior to the announcement of a force majeure.
The force majeure was expected to remain in place until at least June 9, when normal operating activities will be restarted.
Orinoco told shareholders that during the strike period, a power surge from the main grid line caused two water pumps to malfunction, resulting in the company not having access to Levels 5 and 6 at Mestre. Pumping was continuing to keep the water at a controllable level until the critical pump spares arrive at the site at the end of the week.