The incident happened on Sep. 8, when a pipe carrying process solution in the heap leach area was struck by a large block of ice that had rolled down the heap leach valley slope, Barrick said.
De Beers, the world's biggest diamond producer, warns that many of the challenges affecting the industry last year are likely to continue over the next decade.
The Ity mine has produced more than 1.2 million ounces of gold in its over 20 years of operations and Endeavour is working on extending the mine life by at least another 10 years.
The main challenge for mining near-Earth celestial bodies is neither technology nor cost, but simply “convincing people it is realistic,” says Dr. Phil Metzger.