Gold and silver producer Great Panther Mining’s stock fell nearly 10% on Monday as the company again suspended mining at the Urucum Central South (UCS) pit at its Tucano gold mine, in Brazil, on safety grounds.
The miner explained that additional waste material had to be removed and that work on a new pushback wall had started. This would take between six and eight weeks to complete.
Great Panther said that its consolidated guidance would be lower than anticipated and that more details would be provided at a later stage.
This is the second time this year that mining at UCS – one of several pits at Tucano – has had to be halted.
CEO Rob Henderson stated that Great Panther was considering multiple pathways to accelerate production from other areas, with plans under way to bring the TAP C openpit back into production and to accelerate underground production plans.
The underground mineral resources are located below the Urucum North openpit and would be accessed through a portal located at the north end of the pit. The company estimates that the 1 000 t/d underground mine could yield 40 000 oz/y to 50 000 oz/y.
Stripping also continued on the TAP AB pit, which will deliver ore in 2022.
“This latest development is indeed a setback and delays our ramp-up to full production, but ultimately we expect to realise the value from the UCS pit once the pushback activity is complete,” said Henderson.
Great Panther’s stock closed C$0.06 lower at C$0.56 a share on the TSX.