International gold miner Dundee Precious Metals has confirmed that it has a secure power supply to its Bulgarian operations despite Russia’s suspension of natural gas deliveries to the country.
Officials for the Canadian-headquartered company said that operations at its Chelopech and Ada Tepe mines have been unaffected by the stoppage, and it also does not anticipate any impact on its ongoing operations at either property.
In fact, president and CEO David Rae called its progress in Bulgaria “business as usual” with a steady supply of power from the grid.
“Bulgaria is a net exporter of power and is not reliant on imported natural gas from Russia for its electric power needs,” he added.
The main sources of Bulgaria’s electric energy are nuclear and coal facilities, which together comprise approximately 80% of Bulgaria’s total energy generation.
While Russia said recently it is halting natural gas deliveries to Bulgaria, only about 5% of Bulgaria’s total energy supply is generated from natural gas.
Additionally, Rae said, DPM does not source any supplies from Russia or Russian companies, so its impact by the conflict in Ukraine has been limited only to increased costs for energy, fuel and other direct materials.
“DPM continues to closely monitor and proactively manage the potential impacts stemming from this evolving situation,” the company said.
Source: dundeeprecious.com