Talvivaara reviewing targets as it awaits production re-start

Under-press nickel miner Talvivaara says that it is reviewing its fourth-quarter production targets after a widely-reported leak of waste water at a mine in Finland led to the temporary shutdown of operations.

The leakage of the gypsum pond at the Sotkamo mine, which started two week ago, has now been stopped, Talvivaara announced on Wednesday. Most of the water that escaped has been contained within the mining concession area by the newly built fourth safety dam.

However, and as press reports suggested yesterday, the discharge of waste water into a nearby lake before the fourth dam was built increased metal concentrations to harmful levels for life forms in these waters.

The group said: "Metals concentrations in the downstream river have already clearly reduced following the stoppage of any leakage outside the mine area."

In order to re-start production at the metals recovery plant, Talvivaara is now waiting for the Kainuu Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment to grant permission.

The mining group had said last week that it expected fourth-quarter output to exceed the 4,030 tonnes of nickel mined in the third quarter.

"As the stoppage of the metals recovery plant continues, the company has to re-assess this target, but can only do so after it has received the ELY Centre's decision on the permitted start-up date of the metals recovery plant."

The company's shares, which jumped in early trading on Wednesday to over 90p, are still down by over a third over the last month from the 140p level.