Newmont Goldcorp Corp. confirmed that the illegal blockade of the Peñasquito Mine in Mexico was lifted on Oct, 8, however, operations remained temporarily suspended pending further assurances, the company said in a statement.
The mine is part of the portfolio of Goldcorp, whose acquisition Newmont completed in April to become the world’s biggest gold producer. It is located in northern Zacatecas state. In April, Newmont Goldcorp announced plans to suspend operations at the mine due to a blockade by a trucking contractor and some members of the Cedros community who expressed concerns about water supply for the town.
In a release, Newmont Goldcorp said Peñasquito has enhanced water availability for the mine’s 25 neighboring 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 Plant in the Cedros community with a capacity of 600,000 liters of drinking water per day.
Newmont Goldcorp said it will continue to work closely with the federal and state governments toward a sustainable, long-term solution, and lifting of the blockade paves the way for the government-sponsored dialogue to resume.
“In order to protect people, assets, and the long-term viability of the mine, operations at Peñasquito had been safely suspended since the illegal blockade began on September 14,” Newmont said in a statement.
In late September, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that he has asked the parties involved in an ongoing conflict at the Penasquito gold mine in Mexico to do their part to help resolve their differences.
The illegal blockade impacted Peñasquito’s third quarter production by approximately 11,000 gold ounces, 1.7 million silver ounces, 13.7 million pounds of lead and 22.8 million pounds of zinc, and is expected to impact the company’s full-year results for the operation. Through September 30, this represents an approximate production shortfall of 11,000 gold ounces and 51,000 gold equivalent ounces from co-products.
Peñasquito directly employs more than 6,500 people while supporting another 20,000 indirect jobs in the region. Since 2005, the company has invested approximately US$5 billion in Peñasquito.
Photo credit: Newmont Goldcorp
Source : me.smenet.org