Barrick Gold’s Veladero operations in Argentina temporarily halted

Barrick Gold Corp’s Veladero mine in Argentina has been temporarily suspended on orders of the San Juan provincial government pending further inspections of the mine’s heap leach area, the New York- and Toronto-listed gold miner said on Thursday.

The company will work with provincial authorities to confirm the integrity and safety of the jheap leach facility as quickly as possible starting today, Barrick Gold said.

On September 8, a pipe carrying process solution in the heap leach area was damaged when it was struck by a large block of ice that had rolled down the heap leach valley slope, and a small quantity of solution left the leach pad as a result.

But no solution from the damaged pipe reached any water diversion channels or watercourses, and the impacted area in the leach valley has now been remediated. The incident did not pose any threat to the health of employees, communities, or the environment, the company said. 

Barrick said it does not anticipate any material impact to Veladero’s operating guidance.

The mine produced 602,000 ounces of gold last year, with output expected at 580,000-640,000 ounces this year.

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