VANCOUVER — Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. says road blockades have forced it to temporarily halt mining for silver and gold at its San Jose mine in southwestern Mexico.
The Canadian company says a group of people led by the former mayor of San Jose del Progreso has illegally blockaded a federal highway and roads, including access to the mine, to protest state actions to revoke his appointment as mayor.
Local media illustrated the story on their web pages with pictures of gravel trucks parked across the road and identified the mayor at the centre of the dispute as Amador Vazquez Gomez.
They reported in Spanish the intermittent blockades had been ongoing since Monday.
Fortuna says it's maintaining a task force on site to oversee safety and environmental systems and to ensure a prompt return to activity when the dispute is solved and the blockade is lifted.
Meanwhile, the company says it is suspending construction at its US$298-million Lindero gold mine project in Argentina for 10 days to comply with an order by the government to guard against spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2020.
Companies in this story: (TSX:FVI)
The Canadian Press
