Boliden, the Swedish mining group, announced on 24 November that it had halted production at its Tara zinc mine in Ireland because of increased water flow into the mine. Tara is the largest zinc mine in Europe. In 2020, 2.32 million tons of ore from the mine were processed into metal concentrates containing zinc, lead and silver. The company said it encountered large amounts of water flowing into the mine while drilling a pilot hole for a 1km long ventilation shaft. The report notes that the inflow exceeds the capacity of the drainage infrastructure. At present, the mine has stopped production and the focus is on protecting infrastructure and equipment, as well as eliminating unnecessary mine watering. "Measures have been taken to stop the flow of water in the pilot hole," Boliden said. It is unclear how long the suspension will last."
