Hillgrove Resources, an Australian miner, has resumed operations at the Kanmantoo copper mine, located less than 55km from Adelaide in South Australia.
The operations commenced ahead of scheduled after the company had terminated mining contract earlier in July 2013 as a part of its cost-cutting plan.
Hillgrove CEO Greg Hall said that the company is delighted to see the rapid restart of mining operations, ahead of the miner’s previously stated schedule.
"A key focus has been on skills, capability, safety and operating quality as we ramp up operations. New employees are a combination of previous contract operators and new experienced operators, with a focus on local based employees," said Hall.
Hillgrove stated that mining has been commenced at the Kavanagh and Nugent pits, with expectations of copper production ramp-up over the next four to five weeks.
Hall further added that the company has also undertaken training program for new mining employees to recruit, select, induct and assess skills suitable to the company’s ongoing requirements at Kanmantoo.