Halt of water flow into Tara Mines welcomed by SIPTU

News that the flow of water into Tara Mines has been stopped has been welcomed by SIPTU Organiser John Regan who said production would recommence in the coming days but it would take six to eight weeks for the mine to be back at full production.

"It has been a good night's work with news in the last 24 hours that they have successfully stopped the water coming into the mine and that is to be welcomed. It is a relief to everybody after 12 days of non-production. If we are coming to a positive end, it is very good news."

However, Mr Regan pointed out that it will take 6-8 weeks for the mine to get back up to full production.

"There will be a lot of assessing of damage and a lot of infrastructure and machinery to be brought back to different locations in the mine. The road crews are going to be very busy repairing roads in the mine as the flooding will have damaged the roads.

"The pump men are still engaged in making sure the water is removed. There is a lot of water in there that has to be removed out of the mine before the repair of the roads. Those crews along with mining crews and transport crews are all going to be very heavily engaged in getting the infrastructure back up and running."

Mr Regan said thankfully workers were retained in employment and nobody lost pay and that is welcomed.

He commented that the government had played a role in getting expertise into the mine along with the expertise that was already in the mine and he went on to urge the government to give whatever financial assistance it could to Tara Mines given the financial implications of production being halted and no revenue coming in.

"This mine has a 40-year plan ahead and any assistance financially will be recouped in the years ahead," he said.

"I am calling on the government to ensure the company doesn't fall into financial difficulty and any financial assistance it can give will be welcomed."

He said some production would start in the coming days but it would be six to eight weeks before the mine will be back into full production.

In a statement issued this morning, New Boliden said work is now beginning to restore the mine, which includes pumping and mapping of any damage as a result of the water inflow.

"The efforts to stop the water inflow have been successful and starting today we have the water inflow under control. Several efforts are now being initiated to restore the mine to normal production. When this can happen is still uncertain as water accumulations need to be removed, and a survey of damages to the mine infrastructure must be carried out.

"No person has been severely injured and no impact on the external environment has been registered, however, the situation is monitored continuously," the company added.