PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Heavy rainfall has halted production and all non-essential activity at the Capricorn Copper operation in Queensland.
ASX-listed 29Metals told shareholders on Thursday that the wet season for north-west Queensland to date had recorded rainfall significantly above average, including 370 mm of rainfall over the last seven days until March 8, which resulted in intermittent losses of access to Capricorn Copper by road.
The heavy rainfall has also resulted in a substantial increase in the volume of water held on site, which has been a long-standing issue at the copper and silver mine.
The company is now working with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science regarding the impact of the extreme rainfall.
The heavy rainfall is set to continue for the remainder of the week, before likely easing, with 29Metals telling shareholders that the suspension of production could continue for up to three or four weeks, reflecting the estimate of the time required to return site water levels to within prescribed limits and restore the operations.