Canada's Iamgold halts some work at Rosebel mine in Suriname: report

(Reuters) - Canadian miner Iamgold Corp has partially halted work at its Rosebel gold mine in Suriname after an influx of illegal miners blockaded operations, local media reported on Thursday.

The Toronto-listed company has stopped work and removed equipment and personnel from the mine’s southern pits, news site Starnieuws said.

This is the second shutdown to hit the mine since August, when operations were suspended after an illegal miner was killed during a clash with police.

Iamgold last week said it had resumed mining operations at Rosebel’s southern pits, with a full ramp-up expected within roughly 30 days. The zone was excluded from an earlier restart announced on Aug. 26.

The company was not immediately available for a comment outside regular business hours.

The mining industry is grappling with a rising number of illegal miners, also known as artisanal miners, who break into sites in search of metals. At least 43 illegal miners died at a Glencore facility in July in Congo after a landslide.

(Reporting by Ank Kuipers in Paramaribo; writing by Jeff Lewis; Editing by Aditya Soni)