Waihi rock slip migrates roads

Photo/file

A slip on the north wall of Newmont Waihi Gold's Martha open pit which stopped
production just before Easter when rock slipped onto the lower haul road has now migrated to the spiral haul road above.

A slip on the north wall of Newmont Waihi Gold's Martha open pit. Photo/Stuart Whitaker

All production from within the open pit itself has been halted and all mining machinery has been moved to the surface.

Newmont Waihi Gold's External Affairs Coordinator, Kit Wilson, said that as it is going to take some time to fully assess the situation and determine what remedial actions will be most effective, it made sense to bring equipment out of the pit.

"While we work out how best to address the problems caused by the slip and decide on the best way to deal with the issue and safely gain access to the pit once more, we can use this time to service equipment and do any maintenance required." said Mr Wilson in a release.

Wilson said that at this stage it is not known how long the Martha open pit will be out of production.

"Staff have been redeployed to other duties while we consider all of the options." he said.