Loading ...Unstable ground conditions are proving to be a major hindrance for Iamgold at the Westwood gold mine, in the Doyon-Bousquet – LaRonde mining camp in Quebec.
Seismic issues – mostly mining-related – at underground mines in the region are nothing new and can require extensive monitoring and management.
But, after a couple sizeable rock bursts, Iamgold is now having to peddle back on projections and reconsider how much gold it can produce at the mine.
Back in January four Iamgold workers were stuck, briefly, underground after a rock fall blocked access. Then, in a similar incident in May, nine workers were again blocked by a rock fall.
The latest incident forced a hefty production cut with guidance falling from 110,000-130,000 ounces gold (oz) to 60,000 to 75,000oz in 2015 at Westwood. Iamgold reported the revised outlook for 2015 last week, noting mining could not go ahead on one level, and that the extent of the issue was more serious than management previously thought.