Trevali Mining Corp. based in BC suspended work at the Perkoa mine on April 16, when heavy rains caused flash floods and lost eight underground workers. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, he said Monday. After visiting the site on Sunday, Burkina Faso Prime Minister Albert Ventraogo said miners had been barred from leaving the country while investigating the cause of the incident. “Precautionary measures have been taken to prevent the mine officials from leaving the country and strict instructions have been given to the Minister of Security,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. Trevali, based in Vancouver, said he had not received any official communication but was aware of the prime minister’s comments. The company is also investigating the causes of the accident, he said. “Trevali senior management remains at the Perkoa mine and oversees active sewerage and mine restoration work,” said Jason Mercier, the company’s director of investment relations. “Trevali continues to work at full capacity, 24 hours a day, to locate the missing,” she told Reuters. In a previous statement, the company said that while most workers in the basement were able to evacuate safely, the eight missing were working below Level 520, which is 520 meters from the surface at the time of the flood. There are two shelters below Level 520, designed in case miners are trapped, but the company said it did not know if any of the missing workers managed to reach them.
