VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Four employees of Canadian diversified miner Sherritt International have died after a municipal bridge they were working on collapsed Tuesday, the company announced Wednesday.
According to TSX-listed Sherritt, the bridge is over a shallow river, and is the main access from the local town and port of Moa, in Cuba, to the Moa mine site and high pressure acid leach facility. The bridge is also used by the local community.
As per normal protocols, an investigation into the cause is under way, Sherritt stated.
The plant is operating at reduced rates and secondary access is being assessed. Production impacts will depend on how quickly the secondary access can be upgraded, with more information expected in the coming days.
President and CEO David Pathe said the bridge had suffered damage from Hurricane Matthew, and company employees of the joint venture (JV) with General Nickel Company of Cuba had been undertaking repairs since the end of October.
The accident ended a decade of fatality-free operations for Sherritt in Cuba.
Moa’s current full-year guidance is for between 33 500 t and 34 500 t of finished nickel.
Sherritt holds a 50% stake in the Moa mine, with the Cuban company owning the balance.