key component of a company ’ s business continuity plan and are specifically designed to compensate for any financial impact caused by the interruption or interference to business that results from damage to insured property . Simply put , they exist to return the business to the financial position it would be in had the incident in question not occurred .
Interestingly , business interruption cases can prove the most difficult settle despite their often being the largest due to difficulties in tangibly measuring ‘ loss ’. The impact of such interruption , though , is readily apparent . For example , a whitepaper from insurance provider JLT cites an instance of one mining operator suffering business interruption and property damage to the tune of $ 70mn as a result of a worker not using accepted precautions when welding . Similarly , a fire in the kitchens of a Canadian gold mine in Nunavut caused operator Agnico-Eagle to shut down activities for one month and reduce annual production target from 360,000 to 310,000 ounces .
Mitigating mining risk is undoubtedly a complex and demanding operation that requires specialist services . While past incidents show that stopping those risks is near-on impossible – as is the case in any industry or sector , after all – ensuring that the correct insurance is in place is a fundamental aspect of any mining operation to not only cover equipment and personnel , but also the business itself .
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