Avocet Mining to resume Inata mining after court decision

Avocet Mining said it planned to resume operations at its Inata gold mine later this week after receiving good news from the Burkina Faso courts, where a Ouagadougou judge has ordered bailiffs to release the gold shipment seized in October under instruction from a group of ex mine workers.

The AIM-listed company said it "continues to explore solutions" to try and resolve the ongoing legal claim for 2bn CFA francs ($3.4m) over unpaid benefits made by ex-employees against Société des Mines de Bélahourou (SMB), the local entity that operates Avocet's Inata gold mine.

"In the meantime, however, steps are being taken to recover the seized gold for export and to reinstate normal gold shipments thereafter," Avocet said on Tuesday.

The court's decision on the amount of outstanding benefits is still awaited, with SMB's management having said they feel the amount will be considerably less than 2bn CFA claimed.

Shares in Avocet rose 25% to 71.75p by 1100 GMT on Tuesday.