Great Panther Mining Ltd has suspended the transfer of tailings disposal at the Phase II storage facility at its Topia silver mine in Mexico. The company said it is reacting to an independent report that recorded evidence of massive movement under the site.
The company said it is implementing precautionary measures to mitigate risks, including relocating certain residents near the facility. Great Panther also said that sit now is reviewing alternatives for related licenses while waiting for approval of its Phase III news storage site.
Great Panther shares fell almost 11% or $ 0.07 to 58 cents on Monday, March 9. The shares are currently traded in a 52-week range of 53 cents and $ 1.59.
Great Panther is a low-cost producer with a very strong leverage on the price of silver. This company operates three mines, including the Tucano gold mine in the state of Amapa, Brazil, and two primary silver mines in Mexico: the Guanajuato mining complex and the Topia mine.
This company recently appeared in the news when it obtained a positive production decision for its Coricancha gold, silver, zinc and copper mine, 100% owned by Peru.
The Topia mine, which represents approximately 15% of the company’s consolidated gold equivalent production, is located near the city of Topia in the state of Durango, approximately 235 km northwest of the city of Durango. The Topia mine (silver-gold-lead-zinc) consists of several narrow vein underground operations, using a modified cut and fill mining method known as “resuing.”
Generally, access the mines by unpaved mountain roads that lead to adits that follow the veins in the mountains or are driven to cut them. Veins 15 to 150 centimeters wide, with an average of 30 centimeters. The broken ore is transported to a central processing plant on the outskirts of the city.
Great Panther produced approximately 147,000 ounces of consolidated gold in 2019, an increase of 182% since 2018. The increase was largely driven by the acquisition of the Tucano mine in Brazil. The Topia mine produced 1.78 million equivalent ounces of silver in 2019, a 15% increase of 1.54 million ounces in 2018.
It is expected that mining and processing activities in Topia will continue at the current levels for several more days, and that the tailings will be deposited in an allowed alternative location. Thereafter, mining activities will temporarily cease unless an alternative temporary storage solution is found.

They commented that any temporary tailings storage solution would be an interim measure pending the company’s approval to deposit tailings in Phase III of the tailings storage facility or restart stacking in Phase II if mitigation measures are available. to allow its continuous use.
Great Panther says he expects to publish the financial results for 2019 and provide his annual production and cost guide by the end of March 2020.
In addition, in Tucano, after adjustments for mining depletion since June 30, 2017, mineral reserves are now estimated at approximately 646,000 ounces, a decrease of approximately 489,000 ounces of gold in relation to the estimate of June 30, 2017 .
Mineral resources (excluding mineral reserves) decreased by approximately 500,000 ounces of gold.

Source: Resource World