Zijin Mining is restarting normal production at its Colombia gold mine, a spokesperson said on Monday, after people from the surrounding community ended more than a week of road blockades.
The blockades were set up near the mine in Buritica municipality, in Antioquia province, on Aug. 12 as community members demanded a rescue mission to find informal miners allegedly trapped in a tunnel.
Despite several rescue missions, no bodies were handed over to authorities, but the town’s mayor has said two miners are believed to have died. The blockade was lifted on Sunday.
Normal work was being restarted, a Zijin spokesperson said in a message to Reuters, though they did not have information on when the mine would be back at full production.
Thousands of wildcat miners work in sometimes-deadly conditions in dozens of informal tunnels in Buritica, including many within or adjoining Zijin’s concession.
The activities, controlled by the Clan del Golfo crime gang, are a safety issue for the surrounding community and affect Zijin’s output, a Reuters investigation last year showed.
Zijin produced 196,493 ounces of gold last year and 294,581 of silver, according to its website.
(By Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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