Monday 6 February 2012

Johson Gold Mining shutdown for needed plant, facility maintenance

      The gate to the JGMC mining camp. – JGMC photo
 

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

MINER Johson Gold Mining Corp (JGMC) has shut down its operations temporarily to allow for necessary plant and facility maintenance.

This was learned from Jason A Marcelo, company vice-president, who said the shutdown is carried out yearly during months of heavy rains when hauling of ores from several mining sites “has become almost impossible”.

JGMC vice-president Jason A Marcelo
In an email, Marcelo clarified a recent MWBuzz report in which it said JGMC “has temporarily ceased its operations in Mambulao to allow the company to ”re-evaluate” and fix its mines waste pond to avoid accidental discharge of its gold tailings into the environment”.

The mining executive said the shutdown was not mainly due to the present condition of its waste ponds.

Marcelo said it (the shutdown) has been a yearly affair to give time for repairs and maintenance of its equipment, machineries and other crucial facilities such as waste ponds, among others.

He said that the decision to call for APMS (annual preventive maintenance schedule) has become more necessary when ore gets clayey and sticky due to heavy rains.

“Therefore, there are no mining and milling operations” at the moment, Marcelo said, without saying when the plant would resume normal activities.

Accordingly, the areas affected by APMs are the plant equipment and machineries; mines heavy equipment such as hauling trucks, backhoe, dozers and others; service vehicles; mining plans (surface and underground); siltation ponds; waste ponds or tailing ponds.

Marcelo stressed the company’s conduct of APMS that calls for a temporary plant shutdown
 “attest to the company’s commitment to being a responsible mining company”.


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