(Alliance News) - Petra Diamonds PLC said Wednesday that mining at the Cullinan open pit mine in South Africa was temporarily stopped after a pit slope scaling.
After a thunderstorm on Saturday, the sidewall of the open pit at Cullinan scaled during the weekend and into Monday with around three million tonnes of material falling into the pit. The incident resulted in dust being thrown into the air, affecting the local community.
No staff were hurt in the incident.
After initially being suspended, underground mining resumed later on Monday. Petra does not expect the incident to result in a "material impact" on production.
Petra has since engaged with the South African Department of Mineral Resources as well as labour unions and the local community. A number of actions have been agreed upon.
"We will take whatever steps are necessary, including the engagement of external technical specialists if required, to better understand this incident and any impact on future pit stability," Chief Executive Officer Richard Duffy said.
"The safety of our employees and surrounding communities continues to remain our key focus," Duffy added. "Our meetings with our partners in Government, labour unions and the community earlier today were very constructive and their valued input is appreciated."
Shares in Petra were 0.7% lower at 7.65 pence in London on Wednesday.
By Ahren Lester; ahrenlester@alliancenews.com
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Petra Diamonds (PDL)