NYSE- and TSX-listed Newmont Goldcorp has started up production at the Peñasquito mine in Mexico, following the lifting of the illegal blockade on October 8.
With the support of the state and federal governments, including an ongoing police presence, the company has a ten-day process of bringing back the operation to full production.
“We appreciate the government’s efforts to uphold the law by assuring ongoing access to and from Peñasquito, while continuing to sponsor the dialogue process, should that continue to be needed,” said president and CEO Tom Palmer in a statement on Tuesday.
“Our focus is on ensuring a safe start-up of operations so our workforce can return to their jobs in an orderly manner.”
Operations were suspended in mid-September, owing to community conflict. Newmont Goldcorp had offered $25-million in community investments and land rental fees to resolve the conflict.
Peñasquito has enhanced water availability for the mine’s 25 neighbouring communities through a number of projects, including water treatment plants, new wells, pipelines and water trucks, along with 90 other infrastructure and community development projects. This includes installing and operating a reverse osmosis water treatment plant in the Cedros community in 2018 with a capacity of 600 000 l/d of drinking water.
The blockade had impacted third-quarter production by 11 000 oz of gold, 1.7-million ounces of silver, 13.7-million pounds of lead and 22.8-million pounds of zinc. It would also impact on Peñasquito’s full-year production.
Peñasquito directly employs more than 6 500 people while supporting another 20 000 indirect jobs in the region. Since 2005, the company has invested $5-billion in Peñasquito.