Orvana suspends some work at Bolivia mine, shares fall nearly 10 per cent
THE CANADIAN PRESS
JULY 17, 2013
TORONTO - Shares in Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX:ORV) fell nearly 10 per cent Wednesday after the gold and copper producer announced that it has suspended some operations at a plant located at a mine in Bolivia.
The Toronto-based company said it has discontinued work at its leach-precipitation-flotation plant at the Don Mario Mine in Bolivia due to a number of factors including rising labour costs, inconsistent recoveries and falling metal prices.
The LPF process has been used to process oxides ores at the mine for 15 days per quarter. Orvana Minerals said it will continue to process transition ores with a different process.
The company is expected to record a pre-tax impairment charge of US$6.5 million in the third quarter. The company said the charge does not include oxide ores in stockpiles.
A final impairment assessment is expected by the time the company releases its third-quarter results.
Orvana's main asset is the El Valle-Boinas/Carles gold-copper project in northern Spain and the Copperwood copper project in the U.S. state of Michigan.
Orvana shares were trading down 4.5 cents or 42 cents mid-afternoon Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
