Guerrero Mines Reopen Amid Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
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Guerrero Mines Reopen Amid Confirmed COVID-19 Cases

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By MBN Staff | MBN staff - Mon, 06/01/2020 - 17:24

The Guerrero Gold Belt is a region with gold mineralization in Mexico’s Guerrero state. It is located to the north of Acapulco, a major seaport on the Pacific coast. Los Filos, owned by Equinox Gold, is one of the region’s most important mines, along with Peñoles’ Capela and Torex’s El Limon Guajes. Operations at Los Filos were suspended for several weeks in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Notwithstanding the recent confirmation of 51 cases among its workers, Los Filos is set to ramp up operations in June.

Equinox Gold, which in addition to Los Filos owns five operating mines in Brazil and California, reported to Minería en Linea that the 51 confirmed cases emerged after carrying out 605 tests among the personnel working in the mining complex. “Although not a single person had symptoms, 51 COVID-19 carriers were detected out of 605 results obtained. All the asymptomatic cases detected were immediately returned to their homes for individual isolation,” said the company.

The mining industry is deemed essential to Mexico’s economy and has been given permission to restart activities on June 1. The federal government requires miners to fulfill a series of sanitary requirements to get back to work safely. Mexico’s Health authorities deemed that Equinox Gold complied with all requirements. The company was quoted as saying that “Los Filos implemented additional security measures in preparation for the safe return to operations, including a 14-day quarantine for all personnel who would return to the site from areas outside the locality. The company proactively decided to take the additional step of conducting COVID-19 tests on all staff.”

In an interview with Milenio, Álvaro Burgos Barrera, Guerrero Minister of Economy, argued that the mining industry provides 25,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state. He went on to explain that mining companies “are keystones of Guerrero’s economy, generating massive economic spillovers.” He also said that the mining sector has been the one with “the greatest growth in the current administration: investments related to Equinox Gold and Torex Gold amount to more than US$3 billion.”

In its 1Q20 results, Equinox Gold reported a record 89,000oz of gold production and earnings from mine operations of US$43 million. "Equinox Gold had a strong first quarter and achieved record gold production and record earnings from mine operations, despite navigating challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic," said CEO Christian Milau. "With more than US$350 million of cash at hand, Equinox Gold is in a strong financial position and fully funded for its organic growth plans,” he added. The company’s growth plans include an expansion of its Mexican asset. The company reported that the Guadalupe open pit and Bermejal underground development activities continued during 1Q20 but were suspended at the beginning of April in compliance with COVID-19 restrictions.

Photo by:   Wikimedia Commons

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