Lithium producer Orocobre suspends Argentina ops on Covid-19 infections

Australian lithium producer Orocobre temporarily halted operations at its Argentina mine over the weekend of October 24-25 following positive Covid-19 test results among 35 of its employees, it said Monday on October 26.

The company is cleaning the site and rotating staff, and expects to resume operations at the site this week, it said.

The stoppage is not expected to have a financial or operational impact, it added.

Orocobre said it has a bio-security plan developed in accordance with established national regulations and best practice approaches within the industry in the jurisdictions where it operates.

The Olaroz lithium facility is located in the Jujuy Province in northern Argentina.

The company earlier in October said stage 1 ramp-up works for it Olaroz facility would recommence in financial year 2021 with capacity expected to range 15,000-17,500 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by financial year 2022, depending on product mix between battery and industrial grade lithium carbonate.

Stage 2 expansion works at the same site were approximately 40% complete but were forced to slow down due to Covid-19-related restrictions, it said earlier this month.

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