ROCA Mines seeks investors after MAX collapse leads to shutdown
Published: October 06, 2010 4:00 PM
The recent shutdowns at the MAX Molybdenum Mine near Trout Lake has forced some workers to quit, and has caused operator ROCA Mines to look for investors to help them through the shutdown period in the coming weeks.
The current temporary shutdown is the second one inside of a month and was caused by a Sept. 20 collapse and “sloughing” walls, which is similar in appearance to a landslide.
President and CEO of ROCA Mines Scott Broughton said it wasn’t faulty engineering that’s to blame. He said rocks can shift and redistribute, then gravity takes over.
Broughton emphasized that only some workers have left and that the mine already has found parties interested in investing.
“We are on a temporary shutdown right now,” said Broughton. “Our focus right now is to make sure the mine and all things at the mine are still functioning. We do have to go back and clean up the mess after that last event.”
Broughton said when a collapse like they one they experienced happens, a lot of air gets shot out at once. That air blast caused ladders, ventilation doorways and other equipment to be damaged. He figures it will be about another week before that portion gets fixed.
Broughton also said events like the Sept. 20 collapse do happen.
“Ordinarily this kind of event, from a geotechnical point of view, is really not uncommon and not unusual at all. It’s just that it has impacted our cash flow and we had to report that,” he said.
Investors are really needed because essentially all work has stopped at the mine.
“The mine has kind of been operating for several quarters to be a little bit better than even, so we’re basically just meeting our costs,” Broughton said. “Part of that was on purpose because we wanted to have a mine that was ready and poised when the price of molybdenum really surged. That was what the mine was built for. You can make very handsome profits when [molybdenum] prices are really strong.”
However, this means a shutdown can really affect their earnings, says Broughton. Investors will tide them over before they can get the mine operational again.
No one was hurt in the collapse. Broughton says they hope to resume operations in early November.
“We are all saddened by the fact that we’re down and there’s been this loss in employment for some people,” Broughton said.
The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resource said they are currently investigating the cause of the collapse the will be issuing a report.
They confirmed no one was hurt and all workers were out before the collapse happened.
They also said the mine manager is currently developing a new plan to rehabilitate the area and ensure the safety of its workers before miners re-enter.
The MAX mine is located in the hills above Trout Lake. It mines and mills molybdenum, a metal used primarily in metal alloy mixtures.
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