Recent heavy rainfalls in parts of Western Australia have led to issues for gold miners in the region - from processing plant failures to open pit inaccessibility.
According to Mining Weekly portal, the Gruyere gold mine has suspended operations due to adverse weather conditions, being inundated with about 140 mm of rain. The project is a joint venture between Gold Fields and Gold Road. Laverton Shire road has also been closed down, cutting off access to Gruyere. Despite this, Gruyere’s full-year guidance remains unchanged at between 300 000 oz and 335 000 oz.
At the same time, Westgold company operating in the Murchison and Bryah regions has also suffered from the weather. Flooding has impacted some operations and put a strain on both surface and underground haulage. Wet ore led to crusher failures at Fortnum and Tuckabianna operations.
The company also said that it halted mining at the Paddy’s Flat underground mine which would impact its full-year guidance by 15 000 oz to 20 000 oz.
However, Westgold's full-year guidance across all operations remains unchanged at 245 000 oz to 265 000 oz, but it may be at the bottom-end of this range.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
