PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Haile gold mine, in South Carolina, continues to operate despite an announcement by state government that all non-essential businesses are to shut down for a period of 14 days, dual-listed gold miner OceanaGold said on Wednesday.
The company noted that under state guidelines, the status of the Haile gold mine remained unchanged and operations would not be impacted by this government directive.
For the past three weeks, the Haile operation has only permitted entry to essential employees and contractors, while all administrative staff have been working from home where possible.
All employees and contractors entering the site undergo a health screening process, and each shift has been split into smaller groups of less than three, with physical distancing implemented within these smaller groups, allowing the company to isolate smaller teams if any member of the team exhibits symptoms or tests positive for the virus.
“We will continue monitoring the health and safety situation across the business and will move swiftly to continue protecting the health and wellbeing of our workers and supporting them through these challenging times,” said acting president and CEO Michael Holmes.
The ASX- and TSX-listed company in March temporarily suspended operations at its Waihi gold mine, on the North Island of New Zealand, as that country went into a four-week mandated lockdown.