Gold production at Aurora Gold Mine Inc (AGM) has been halted temporarily as the company works to improve its stockpile of ore to support continuous milling and processing activities, Director of Corporate Office, Compliance, and Government Relations Peter Benny has said.
Production at the company, owned by Chinese Mining group Zijin Mining, began in November last but was short-lived as the company recognised that it did not have the quantity of ore to support continuous processing.
“We started production to the end of November and continued in December and January. Towards the end of January we realized that the stockpile of ore that we had mined was running low and we needed rebuild that stock pile… we temporary halted processing for six weeks while we get back down in the pit and do more stripping,” Benny told Stabroek News.
Production for the last quarter of 2020 was pegged at 6,597 ounces, while in January, 4,153 ounces were produced. According to Benny, the company aims to produce between 95,000 and 100,000 ounces of gold by the end of this year.
Processing activities, Benny added, were halted in February and are scheduled to resume before the end of March.
He noted that during the downtime, the company has been engaged in maintenance and upgrading of its machinery and facilities. Stripping activities have also been expanded.
Additionally, the work force has grown and currently there are over 600 employees, excluding those from Sinohydro, the company contracted to conduct stripping works. He noted that there are currently 50 Chinese expats on their team.
Touching on the monitoring of COVID-19 at the worksite, Benny explained that systems have been put in place which have proven to be effective.
AGM, he emphasised, has implemented stringent measures and controls, such as temperature testing, oxygen levels testing, social distancing, the wearing of masks, and hand washing, at all its locations.
Before employees depart for the mines, they are screened at the Ogle Airport using a rapid antigen test. When they arrive on site, they are further tested and checked for symptoms at the medical post.
He noted that if an employee displays symptoms of the virus they are medevac’d out and transported to a private medical facility, where they are administered a PCR-test.
The company last year had refuted claims by the Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton that it had recorded cases of COVID-19 at the mine site.
Hamilton had said that 17 of AGM’s employees had tested positive. The minister further noted that the cases at AGM were discovered after 112 employees were tested.
“These tests were only done because the employees had to depart the country, but now it raises the question of the working conditions there [at AGM] and how these workers have been working during COVID-19,” the minister had said.
In refuting the claims, Benny said that his company has less than 55 Chinese working at the mines and only one of their staff had returned to China since operations resumed. That one employee‘s result was negative.
Benny related that “of the 24 Chinese working with AGM and the 26 working with Sino Hydro, none of them has been tested positive nor has any of our employees, whether it is at Aurora, or the Georgetown Office, or Buckhall.”
The Director had pointed out that at the mining operations there is social distancing in the lunch rooms and mess hall, and to further ensure that social interaction is limited, they have closed off the playground, gyms and places of recreation.
Additionally, the company has moved ahead with the implementation of a Workers and Grievance committee. The committee was birthed out of visit by Hamilton to the mines and listening to concerns of employees. This committee meets and listen to concerns of employees and addresses matters before it “explodes or gets to the higher management.”
“This seems to be working because workers are able to raise concerns in a safe environment and the managers resolve it immediately. This has been giving a positive feedback,” Benny explained.
Benny also emphasised that as the company continues its operations, it remains environmentally conscious of its practices. It has adopted the same environmental practices as when the company under the ownership of Guyana Gold Fields. He stressed that they are operating within high environmental standards.
Zijin Mining Group is one of the largest gold, copper and zinc producers in China. The company has experience in prospecting, construction, mining, metallurgy and operation of gold mines and acquired AGM in August last year.
