TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Access to triple-listed gold miner B2Gold's El Limon mine, in Nicaragua, has been blocked by an illegal barricade since last Monday.
The Canadian miner explained that access to the El Limon operation and process facility had been blocked by a small group of workers, community members, and other persons not affiliated with the operation, after a legal process instituted to dismiss three employees, found to be complicit in initiating previous illegal blockades, was concluded.
B2Gold said the dismissal was reviewed and sanctioned by the Nicaragua Ministry of Labour.
“The blockade has impeded access and increasingly threatened the safety of a significant majority of employees who want to continue working,” the company noted.
B2Gold advised that despite having government support, as well as that of two majority unions at El Limon, several attempts to find a resolution had been fruitless.
“Attempts at peaceful solutions have not been successful so far and the operation, community and [the] majority of workers are now exposed to the consequence of aggressive illegal action imposed by a small number of individuals. The company continues to work with the government and the two unions, [whose members] want to return to work immediately, to affect a rapid resolution of this illegal blockade,” B2Gold stated.
The miner held a 95% interest in the El Limon mine, with the remaining 5% being held by Inversiones Mineras, a holding company representing unionised mineworkers in Nicaragua.
In 2015, the El Limon mine was expected to produce between 55 000 oz and 65 000 oz of gold at operating cash costs of about $680/oz to $710/oz.