The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) late Sunday said it ordered a gold miner in Surigao del Norte to stop its mineral processing operations until company is able to restore its fault mine tailings facility.

The order, e-mailed to the media Sunday night, asked Gregory Charles Edwards, Greenstone Resources Corp. president, to stop “... undertaking gold ore mineral processing” in Tubod, Surigao del Norte, “[d]ue to the imminent danger posed by the situation...”

Mines Bureau director Leo Jasareno imposed on June 6 a cease-and-desist order on the operations of Greenstone Resources after the MGB Regional Office XIII reported a tension crack was discovered “along the embankment of the tailings storage facility...”

Any corrective measures staged by Greenstone Resources should be certified by a third party expert and validated  by the Environmental Management Bureau (MGB), according to the MGB order.

Greenstone Resources operates the Sienna Gold project within the municipalities of Mainit and Tubod. Red 5 Ltd. of Australia holds a 90-percent beneficial interest in the project through Greenstone Resources.

Commissioned only last year, Sienna gold project was expected to produce a minimum of 849,000 ounces of gold at a cash cost of $400 per ounce over a 10-year mine life.

The tension crack has yet to be determined but the MGB imposed a cease and desist order as a cautionary measure to prevent the tailings facility from sustaining further damage, Jasareno said. — Article Courtesy GMA News