Fortuna provides update on the resumption of construction activities at the Lindero gold Project, Argentina
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fortuna Silver Mines, Inc. (NYSE: FSM) (TSX: FVI) provides an update on the resumption of its construction activities
at the Lindero gold Project, located in the Province of Salta, Argentina.
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On March 19, 2020, the Government of Argentina declared a period of mandatory national “social isolation” in relation to COVID-19, effective until March 31, 2020. This period of isolation has
been subsequently extended until May 10, 2020. Construction was temporarily halted at Lindero and a reduced task force remains on site to maintain critical activities including security and
environmental monitoring over the extended isolation period (refer to Fortuna news release dated March 20, 2020).
On April 3, 2020, the Government of Argentina included mining and related activities within the list of essential industries and services permitted to operate during the mandatory social isolation
period. To resume operations, companies are required to submit to the provincial authorities a Minimum Emergency Operations Program (MEOP).
On April 28, 2020, the Company submitted and received approval to resume operations under its MEOP. The construction plan has been revised to implement sanitary protocols for the prevention
and handling of COVID-19 cases, which include a reduced on-site workforce in support of social distancing measures. Mobilization to the project site is planned to take place during the second half
of May 2020 in order to resume construction activities. The Company has modified its construction and commissioning plans to mitigate risks to the timeline and budget associated with a
reduced workforce, limited foreign vendor support, and limitations on local travel.
As of March 19, 2020, the date of the Lindero demobilization, the project was 94 percent complete.
The new construction and commissioning plans prioritize the completion of solution handling, ADR and SART plants with the objective of producing first doré in the third quarter of 2020. With
the advanced stage of commissioning of the primary and secondary crushing circuits, crushed coarse ore is scheduled to be placed on the leach pad for cyanide irrigation starting in July. This plan
contemplates by-passing the tertiary HPGR crushing and agglomeration circuits temporarily, for a period of four months, until the fourth quarter of 2020.