Nyrstar has conditionally approved the restart of the Myra Falls mine, according to Nyrstar’s First Quarter 2017 Interim Management Statement released on May 4.
“(Nyrstar) will continue to utilize limited additional (capital expenditure) to prove up reserves and strengthen mine plans to facilitate sales of its remaining North American mining asset base. The company remains committed to its strategy to divest its mining assets for value,” the news release said.
In a statement, Kelly Strong, the vice president on mining, said he is pleased that Nyrstar’s board of directors gave conditional approval to restart the mine.
“As you can imagine, we are now working through many important discussions related to the restart of the mine including reaching a collective agreement with our workers,” he said. “Both Nyrstar and Unifor 3019 share an interest in sustainable operations and good jobs. We are currently in active and constructive discussions and as we have more information on the progress of the various conditions and timeline for the restart of Myra Falls.”
The zinc and copper mine is located 90 kilometres from Campbell River in Strathcona Provincial Park. Nyrstar temporarily suspended operations at the mine on June 1, 2015.
At the time of the suspension announcement, there was no timeline for when the mine would re-open.
Nyrstar said, in the 2015 announcement, that operations were suspended due to a number of shortcomings, identified through an economic and operational review, that resulted in a significant deterioration in the performance at the mine in the year before the suspension.
