Mauritania Gold Mine To Reopen After Government Row

Mauritania gold mine to reopen after government row

NOUAKCHOTT, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th july,2016) - Production at a giant Canadian-owned gold mine in Mauritania will resume in August, the company said, after operations were suspended in June over a dispute with the government about work permits. Work at the Tasiast site, one of the main gold mines in west Africa, stopped after the state ordered expatriates whose work permits had expired to stay home. That order came a month after workers went on strike over plans by the owner Kinross to slash costs. "Operations of extraction and treatment at the Tasiast mine should resume normally in the first half of August," said a statement from Tasiast Mauritanie Limited, a local subsidiary of Toronto-headquartered Kinross, on Thursday.

The resumption follows an agreement between TLMSA and the government of Mauritania to resolve the work permits dispute, according to the statement. In June, the government intervened after a routine inspection of the mine to ensure workers had the necessary permits and that their rights were being upheld. Workers went on strike for 18 days starting in May to dispute money-saving measures, including cuts to medical cover, tax cover and bonuses which they said had been instigated without consultation.