Semafo restarts work at processing plant in Burkina Faso after deadly attack
Posted February 6, 2020 1:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL — Gold miner Semafo Inc. says work at its Boungou processing plant in Burkina Faso has restarted after a deadly attack against its workers halted operations last year.
Gunmen attacked a bus convoy of 241 workers on the road to the gold mine in November last year, killing 39 people and injuring at least 60 others.
Semafo says that as part of its phased plan, employees and contractors who were previously travelling on the public road are being transported by air between Fada and Boungou and lodged at the mine site.
The company is using a helicopter to transport the workers, but expects to use an airplane once construction of the airstrip has been completed.
The phased plan includes a restart of mining in the fourth quarter while continuing to process stockpiles.
However, Semafo says it needs the government to improve security on the public road, and in the surrounding region, to increase the frequency of deliveries required to operate after the initial three months.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.
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The Canadian Press
