Nifty mining to resume after rock fall
Aditya Birla Minerals says it is set to resume mining this week at the Birla Nifty underground copper mine in the Pilbara, four months after a rock fall halted operations.
The move follows the lifting of a prohibition order by the Department of Mines and Petroleum.
Aditya said underground mining activities would begin this week with some ore delivered to the surface. That would be followed by a gradual ramp up which would see processing resume in August.
"It is expected that operations will not achieve optimal levels during the first few months of the ramp up, but the company will strive to become financially viable during the course of the remainder of the year," Aditya said.
"The company's quarterly activities report will include details of the cash burn throughout the shutdown period and remaining cash holdings."
Birla Nifty's 400-strong workforce has been offsite since March, with workers forced to take annual or indefinite unpaid leave. Aditya earlier this month announced 109 voluntary redundancies.
Aditya's share price was unchanged at 22.5 cents at 10.29am.
The company is majority owned by the $40 billion Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group
