A safety issue at the railway bridge access point between the mine and the flotation plant has caused a delay of three to four weeks to first sale of concentrate.

Its offtake partner Mercuria has been notified of the issue and the agreement remains in place, the company said.

Contractors are already working on building an alternative steel structure for the affected area. An audit has resulted in immediate personnel changes.

Vast already has 150 tonnes of prepared copper concentrate that will form part of the first sales to Mercuria which is now expected to be delivered in October.

Chief operating officer and chief geologist Craig Harvey has been granted access into Romania from South Africa following a period of extended lockdown due to Covid-19.

He will be arriving on site in September to physically manage operations on the ground at Baita Plai.

Development of the lower underground level at the mine is expected to be completed at the end of 2021.

Baita Plai has a 1,800,000 tonnes copper-silver-zinc-lead- gold-tungsten-molybdenum ore body at 6% copper equivalent within the mining licence area.