Junior miner Red 5 has suspended milling operations at its Siana gold mine in the Philippines after its damaged tailings dam was deemed unrecoverable.
The company said it had received advice that the site’s dam had been compromised and attempts to re-instate the facility to operational status had not been recommended by geotechnical advisors.
Experts from GHD Engineering, Knight Piesold Consulting and Golder Associates had all concluded that there was an unquantifiable risk in attempting to return the dam to operational capacity.
The advisors also added that any modifications to the tailings dam would be uneconomical.
The company has now turned its focus to constructing a new tailings dam for the site.
Mining operations including the stockpiling of ore will continue at the site while the company considers its financial position.
Red 5 has said it is in discussions with its banker Credit Suisse regarding the company’s financial outlook and will update the market further within the next two weeks.
The company’s share price closed at 62 cents prior to the company’s announcement regarding the dam.