Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE:EXK)(TSE:EDR) said Monday that an employee has died at one of its mines in Mexico due to a rock fall underground over the weekend.
The death, which happened on Saturday at the V-Asuncion mine that forms part of the El Cubo operations in Guanajuato, follows the death of another employee at Endeavour’s Guanacevi complex just a week ago, also due to a rock fall accident.
Endeavour said the V-Asuncion mine was closed immediately after the rock fall, with an internal investigation already completed. It is now working with Mexican authorities, and said it would review and implement any recommended additional safety measures to prevent future accidents of such nature.
In addition, the company said Monday that since this is the second fatal accident at its Mexican mining operations in the last week, it has decided to immediately implement a full safety retraining program at all three of its mines.
Each of its mines will shut down for two days to receive a “two-day refresher” course on safety policies and practices. The company will also hire a group of safety specialists to review the company safety programs and implement recommendations.
Endeavour added that the precious metals miner is already ahead of its production plan for the year, so the mine closures are not expected to impact its full year output.
“We truly regret this accident and we offer our sincere condolences to the family of the deceased,” said CEO Bradford Cooke.
“The safety of our employees is a top priority for Endeavour. We have initiated stronger measures to try and prevent such accidents from recurring, and we will continue to seek out new initiatives to protect the health of our employees.”
