On December 9, Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based miner Lundin Mining Corporation announced that heavy rains over the last few days in the Extremadura region of Spain, where the company's Aguablanca mine is located, have caused operations to be curtailed.
Associated with this rainfall, there has been a significant slope failure on the southwest wall of Aguablanca's open pit affecting the main access ramp which has curtailed operations pending an initial technical investigation. Following the investigation, a decision will be made regarding the future of the operations.
The Aguablanca mine is a small nickel/copper mine and is a non-core operation for Lundin Mining. Production at Aguablanca for 2010 is now expected to be 6,150 mt of nickel and 5,200 mt of copper.