The cause of the landslip was due to the continuous rainfall in the area. The company said the remedial works on the road affected by the landslip have been hampered by the continuous rainfall but they expect the full restoration of the road to be completed soon.
“Part of the copper concentrate pipeline that was dislodged will be replaced before concentrate can be pumped to the river port of Kiunga for shipment,” the mine stated in the press release.
“Water supply and other essential services to the township of Tabubil have also been restored however the Company is still maintaining a number of measures to reduce pressure on the operation until the Company returns to full production.”
Managing Director and CEO, Nigel Parker, through an internal message, commended the OTML workforce, contractor partners and business houses for well-co-ordinated support in dealing with the numerous issues presented during this period.
“Unfortunately, natural events such as these are beyond our control but I personally would like to commend the efforts of OTML personnel, our contractor business partners and the communities for their individual and combined contributions in restoring essential services to Tabubil and the mine associated infrastructure,” he said.
“For those personnel who were unfortunately isolated at the Mine and Mill until evacuations could be safely coordinated, I also thank you for your patience and understanding during the event.
We still have some work to do to restore normalcy throughout the business but I am confident, as we have proven many times before, that we will overcome the remaining issues within the next couple of weeks.”