GOLD miner and explorer Shen Yao Holdings, previously known as LionGold, has issued a clarification after an Australian newspaper claimed that gold production at its Ballarat mine &ndash seen as controversial in the country &ndash has ground to a halt since last week.

 

In a bourse filing on Monday (Oct 3), Shen Yao said several parts of the Oct 3 article by the Australian Financial Review &ndash which was premised on tensions between the Victorian government and the company &ndash are &ldquo misleading&rdquo .

 

Shen Yao said it &ldquo voluntarily suspended&rdquo some processing as the management saw it as prudent owing to the recent wet weather in and around Ballarat that caused the amount of water in the dams that hold &ldquo tailings&rdquo , or waste, to approach its storage limit.

 

However, underground mine operations are &ldquo proceeding as per normal&rdquo , the company stressed. It also stated that long-term maintenance in the plant is being brought forward so that some future maintenance shutdowns may no longer be required.

 

As for the article&rsquo s claim that it has not disclosed its production halt to the Singapore Exchange, Shen Yao said a reduction in processing of gold need not be disclosed as it is temporary in nature.

 

The company has a &ldquo clear plan&rdquo towards resolution of this matter by mid-October, it added, reiterating that processing is expected to return to &ldquo normal levels&rdquo , with dewatering initiatives underway.

 

It then highlighted the board&rsquo s view that this limitation in terms of the capacity of the current tailings storage facility will not have a material impact on the group&rsquo s operations, since adjustments can be made to the operational strategy to ensure business continuity.