Stillwater: Montana Operations Back To Normal After Flooding
June 01 2011 - 04:40AM
Dow Jones News
Platinum and palladium producer Stillwater Mining Co. (SWC) has
resumed normal operations at its two Montana mines after
disruptions last week and expects the closures to have a negligible
impact on production levels, it said in a statement late
Tuesday.
The company said it would suspend day shifts at its Stillwater
and East Boulder mines May 25 following heavy road and highway
flooding, which prevented some employees from getting to work
safely.
However, Stillwater said that--despite the rivers remaining
"unusually high"--evening crews have since been able to travel
safely to and from the site.
"Consequently, only one shift of production was lost at the
Stillwater Mine, which typically would amount to between 500 troy
ounces and 600 ounces of lost production," the company said in the
statement.
Prior to the flooding, second-quarter production at the
operation was running ahead of plan, Stillwater said. It expects
May production there will likely still finish at or ahead of
budget.
At its East Boulder Mine, the company has also faced mechanical
issues with one of its main ventilation fans, which have been more
complicated and time-consuming to repair than initially expected,
it said.
"However, prior to the fan outage and weather issues, the ore
stockpile at the concentrator was higher than normal, which has
allowed the East Boulder concentrator to continue running on a
normal schedule despite the reduced mine output," the company
said.
The two mines produced a total of 485,100 ounces of platinum and
palladium in 2010.
"The company has assessed the effect of these issues on its
second-quarter production outlook and estimates their overall
impact will be negligible," Stillwater said in the statement.
-By Rhiannon Hoyle, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9405;
rhiannon.hoyle@dowjones.com
Stillwater Mining (NYSE:SWC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Stillwater Mining (NYSE:SWC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024