PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium miner Galaxy Resources has suspended operations at its Sal de Vida project, in Argentina, after the Argentinian government issued a nation-wide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The ASX-listed company said that the majority of the Sal de Vida project workforce is demobilizing from site, with only a skeleton crew to remain for essential services.
The company told shareholders that the restrictions would inevitably slow down on-site activities, however, offsite engineering design work would continue unaffected. To date, the pilot programme has advanced to pond lining completion and plant commissioning.
An updated feasibility study previously estimated that the project would require a capital investment of $474-million to produce some 25 000 t/y of battery grade lithium carbonate and 95 000 t of potash over a mine life of 40 years.