Spanish transport strike halts Orvana’s Orovalle operation

An ongoing transportation strike in Spain has accentuated supply chain disruptions that have forced Canadian miner Orvana Minerals (TSX: ORV) to suspend operations at the critical Orovalle copper-gold operation in the country’s north.

In a news release Friday, the company said that the lack of timely supply of materials caused by a national strike of transportation services prompted the temporary suspension of operations.

Several Spanish truckers’ unions commenced a nationwide strike on March 14 over rising fuel prices and working conditions. Reuters reported on Friday that truckers rejected a $1.1 billion support package to defuse the 12-day walkout that has caused sporadic goods shortages.

Orvana said it was monitoring the situation affecting Spain on a nationwide basis and would provide further updates as material developments occur.

Orvana intends to resume normal production at Orovalle when transportation services restart.

In the meantime, the company continues to investigate “any and all options” at its disposal to restart operations.

The EVBC (El Valle) mine is located in northern Spain’s Rio Narcea Gold Belt and was previously mined from 1997 to 2006 by Rio Narcea Gold Mines. They produced nearly a million ounces of gold and over 20,000 tonnes of copper before the closure of the mine.

The El Valle underground mine produced 47,414 oz gold and 6.3 million pounds of copper in 2021.

First-quarter output is expected to total 11,731 oz gold and 1.5 million pounds copper, placing it in line to achieve 2022 guidance of 48,000 oz gold and 5.8 to 6.5 million pounds copper.

On Friday, the transport strike weighed on Orvana’s Toronto-quoted equity, sending stock as much as 7.5% lower to 46c. The company has a market capitalization of $59.43 million (US$47.54 million).