Production stops at Tara Mines following water incident

Production at Tara Mines has stopped because an increased flow of water into the mine.

The volume of water is flowing into the mine at a faster rate than the it can be pumped out.

According to the company “initiatives have been taken to stop the flow of water.

“It is at present unclear how long the stop in production will be.”

The increased water flow resulted from drilling of a pilot raise bore hole for a ventilation shaft.

The increased water means underground production is not possible.

“During drilling, a high flow of water into the mine was encountered, which caused production to be stopped. Inflow volumes are exceeding the capacity of the dewatering infrastructure.

“The production has been stopped to focus on protecting infrastructure and equipment, whilst also eliminating unnecessary addition of water into the mine,” according to a statement from the company.

John Regan of the SIPTU trade union said staff are reporting for work as normal and it is hoped that the problem will be fixed as soon as possible.