Newmont Goldcorp Declares Production Restart at Penasquito Gold-Silver Mine

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Newmont Goldcorp Corporation announced gradual resumption of production at its Penasquito gold-silver mine in Mexico. This follows the lifting of the blockade at the operation in early October.

According to the company press release, the illegal blockade has been lifted effective October 8, 2019. The company has initiated the process of bringing back the operation to full production. The process, with support of the State and Federal governments and police, is likely to extend to approximately ten days.

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The first blockade of the mine commenced in March, when access to the site was blocked. The protestors demanded compensation for alleged environmental damages and clean water by communities. The blockade lasted for 80 days. The company had used the downtime to carryout maintenance on various systems and equipment. Following this, the company had resumed operations at the mine in June this year. However, a second blockade halted the operations by mid-September this year.

Tom Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer noted that the company is currently focusing on ensuring a safe start up of operations, so that employees can return to their jobs in an orderly manner. Newmont Goldcorp has invested in various projects to ensure enhanced water availability for the neighbouring communities, including new water treatment plants, wells, pipelines and trucks.