Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA is temporarily suspending production at its Orcopampa gold mine in Peru from Dec. 17 through Jan. 31, 2019, to focus on centralizing the operation.

The company said Dec. 12 that the decision for the suspension due to force majeure was made in line with its strategy to prioritize Orcopampa's debottlenecking program over ore extraction.

The program will focus on optimizing the current infrastructure by improving the mine ventilation system and reinforcing the galleries to ensure the safety of Orcopampa's on-site team.

During the period, around 550 workers will participate in the activities related to optimization of the infrastructure.

The move will not have any material impact on production in 2018 and 2019.

In its second-quarter results, Buenaventura slashed the gold production guidance for Orcopampa to between 120,000 and 140,000 ounces of gold, from between 190,000 and 210,000 ounces.