Temporarily Halt At Topia Mine To Facilitate Transition To New Tailings Facility
VANCOUVER - Great Panther Silver reported that, further to a review of its Topia Mine operations in Durango, the Company has decided to suspend the operation of the processing facility for approximately three months to facilitate plant upgrades and a transition to a new tailings storage facility (TSF) currently under construction. Mine operations will continue through the plant shutdown and all ore will be stockpiled and processed in 2017.
"While we are continuing with the geotechnical evaluations and assessments of the remaining capacity at the existing tailings facility, we have made the decision to suspend processing at Topia", stated Robert Archer, President & CEO. "This will provide the opportunity to safely engage in improvements at the processing plant concurrently with the construction of the new TSF while continuing with mine and resource development. During the period of the shutdown we will maintain full employment at Topia as mining operations will continue and plant personnel will be employed in the upgrade and maintenance programs, training and other activities."
The new TSF entails a change from wet deposition to dry stack, which best aligns with environmentally sound practices in the industry today. The project includes the installation of a thickener and filter presses, upgrades to the crushing plant, flotation circuits and ball mills some of which are already in progress. As preparation and permitting of the Phase II TSF continues, the efforts at the existing TSF will shift to dewatering to improve stability, and to transition toward a program of reclamation and remediation, all of which are in accordance with best closure practices. Simultaneously, a program of ore control optimization is being implemented throughout the mine to increase grades with the objectives of reducing unit costs and increasing metal production.