TORONTO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Breakwater Resources slid 4 percent on Tuesday after the junior miner said it had evacuated its troubled Myra Falls zinc mine in British Columbia due flooding caused by heavy rain and melting snow.
This will mean additional delays in restoring production at the mine, which went on hold two weeks ago following a fire in a production hoist.
The company said on Monday it had replaced a damaged switch gear on the hoist and returned it to service, but just hours later it said excessive rain and snow melt had created a 'considerable amount of water runoff' at the mine, prompting it to evacuate the underground operations.
'Typically you get water in mines and you pump it out on a regular basis, so the issue is if you're at all concerned about the rate of inflow,' said Ann Wilkinson, the company's vice-president of investor relations.
'Being cautious people, we decided we would affect an orderly evacuation and wait until things dried up a little bit.'
She said the company will provide updates as appropriate.
The mine is located in the Coast Mountain range on Vancouver Island, and in an area that received 8 to 10 inches of snow on the weekend, with more expected, Wilkinson said.
For Breakwater, the evacuation is just the latest in what has been an an eventful couple of weeks.
In addition to the fire, the company announced the surprise resignation of Chief Executive George Pirie two weeks ago. He was replaced by David Petroff. As well, it narrowly averted a strike at Myra Falls last week when it reached a last-minute deal with unionized workers.
Prior to the announcement of the flooding, Breakwater said Myra Falls should produce within 5 percent of its recent guidance of 31,500 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, 3,500 tonnes of copper and 557,000 ounces of silver in 2009.
Breakwater operates three mines in Canada, Honduras and Chile. It also owns the Langlois mine in Quebec, which has been suspended for the past year due to weak commodity prices.
The company's shares were down 1-1/2 Canadian cents at 35 Canadian cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1=$1.06 Canadian)
(Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Rob Wilson) Keywords: BREAKWATER/ (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
This will mean additional delays in restoring production at the mine, which went on hold two weeks ago following a fire in a production hoist.
The company said on Monday it had replaced a damaged switch gear on the hoist and returned it to service, but just hours later it said excessive rain and snow melt had created a 'considerable amount of water runoff' at the mine, prompting it to evacuate the underground operations.
'Typically you get water in mines and you pump it out on a regular basis, so the issue is if you're at all concerned about the rate of inflow,' said Ann Wilkinson, the company's vice-president of investor relations.
'Being cautious people, we decided we would affect an orderly evacuation and wait until things dried up a little bit.'
She said the company will provide updates as appropriate.
The mine is located in the Coast Mountain range on Vancouver Island, and in an area that received 8 to 10 inches of snow on the weekend, with more expected, Wilkinson said.
For Breakwater, the evacuation is just the latest in what has been an an eventful couple of weeks.
In addition to the fire, the company announced the surprise resignation of Chief Executive George Pirie two weeks ago. He was replaced by David Petroff. As well, it narrowly averted a strike at Myra Falls last week when it reached a last-minute deal with unionized workers.
Prior to the announcement of the flooding, Breakwater said Myra Falls should produce within 5 percent of its recent guidance of 31,500 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, 3,500 tonnes of copper and 557,000 ounces of silver in 2009.
Breakwater operates three mines in Canada, Honduras and Chile. It also owns the Langlois mine in Quebec, which has been suspended for the past year due to weak commodity prices.
The company's shares were down 1-1/2 Canadian cents at 35 Canadian cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1=$1.06 Canadian)
(Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Rob Wilson) Keywords: BREAKWATER/ (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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