Trigon Metals Inc. suspended underground operations at Kombat Mine on January 16 after two main dewatering pumps failed.
The company anticipates that the pump failure will ultimately flood the underground mine over the coming days.
Trigon Metals said all personnel exited the affected areas to ensure safety and equipment was removed.
Kombat Mine has been flooded three times in its more than 172 years of operations.
The first time it flooded was in 1925, when the Otavi Minen und Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (OMEG) was running the mine.
The company suspended operations until the 1950s, when Tsumeb Consolidated Limited (TCL) bought the mine. TCL worked the mine until 1988, when the second flooding happened.
The third flooding happened in 2007/8, when Weatherly International had taken over from TCL.
Trigon Metals started underground mine operations training and conducted the first blast in February 2024 ahead of schedule after installing two powerful (2.5 MW) submersible pumps in the main shaft at Asis West between July and August 2023.
Trigon Metals announced achieving commercial production from the underground operations at Kombat Mine as of April 30, 2024.
However, in June 2024, the company suspended underground operations when the two main pumps failed. At the time, Trigon Metals had dewatered the shafts down to 331 metres from the shaft collar.
The company installed the pump body (known as the wet end) on July 26, 2024, and started pumping water from the mine on that day.
On September 19, 2024, Trigon Metals announced it had reached a key milestone, having mined an average of 980 tons of ore daily from its underground operations over 30 days.
The company announced that it would pause its open pit operations at the end of that month.
There are plans to expand the mill’s throughput from 30,000 tons to 60,000 tons per month to cater to additional underground operations material.
Trigon Metals revised its 2025 copper production guidance from 12 million to 13,4 million pounds of copper to 8,3 million to 9,2 million.
The company also reduced its expected mined and processed copper grades to between 1.52% and 1.79%.
On December 3, 2024, Horizon Corporation Limited proposed a loan of US$5 million to allow for the conclusion of the evaluation and due diligence to acquire 100% of its ownership interest in the Kombat Mine.
The companies signed a binding loan agreement on December 16, 2024, with a valuation of US$30 million, subject to definitive agreements, shareholder approval, regulatory consent, and other closing conditions.
Trigon Metals CEO Jed Richardson said the latest pump failure will not affect the deal with Horizon.
“Today’s pump failure is an untimely challenge that we are working to overcome. We applaud the team at the site for acting quickly to prioritize the safety of all mine workers.
“Initial discussions with Horizon indicate that a transaction will go ahead with the hope of restoring operations and getting back to business.”
