Griffin Mining Ltd on Friday said that while China’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 continues to create uncertainty at its flagship mine, it was confident of an improved performance in the new year as guidelines start to relax.
Griffin is a mining company focused on China. Its flagship asset is the Caijiaying licence, an operating zinc, gold, silver and lead mine located 250 kilometres northwest of Beijing in Hebei Province.
As of November 1, the Caijiaying mine was operational. However, after Covid-19 was detected in the Zhangjiakou City prefecture, government constraints were re-introduced, preventing road transport vital for supplying necessary logistics and supplies.
Griffin said the Caijiaying mine has experienced two government-mandated, three-day precautionary shutdowns since the start of November.
Though central Chinese authorities announced more relaxed Covid-19 guidelines this week, the company said it was wary of ‘significant disruption’ should Covid-19 be detected in or around the mine.
Regulatory processes administered at both the Zhangjiakou City Government and the Hebei Provincial Government levels have also been delayed due to Zhangjiakou and the Provincial Capital being quarantined.
Critical operational approvals, such as the use of explosives and the Zone II Safety Facility Design, have been delayed.
However, Griffin said it has completed several projects despite restrictions. These included: the construction of a greenhouse gas reduction tower for the site boiler; commencing the solar power project; and moving sufficient staff, contractors and materials for full operations to commence at the mine.
Full production and blasting recommenced on November 16.
Looking ahead, Griffin expects to produce 175,000 tonnes of ore in the fourth quarter, and 800,000 tonnes for the year, despite operations being suspended for five months.
This compares to 971,492 tonnes of ore mined for the last financial year, and 985,404 tonnes processed.
It said it was confident of increasing production throughput to 1.5 million tonnes in 2023.
‘In a very, very difficult year and an uncertain Covid-19 environment, the Caijiaying Mine and its people continue to shrug off adversity and produce extraordinary results,’ said Chair Mladen Ninkov.
‘The company is very fortunate to have the quality and fortitude of the people on site and in the company. With a clear year ahead of us I expect an exceptional operational performance in 2023.’
Griffin shares were trading 5.9% lower at 67.76 pence each in London on Friday morning.
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