MELBOURNE, April 6 (Reuters) - Australian miner South32 Ltd S32.AX on Thursday said its Cannington silver and lead mine in the country's northeast had been hit by a fire, forcing it to cut output forecasts.
"South32 advises that mining extraction at Cannington has been temporarily impacted by an underground fire that damaged the load-out and shaft haulage infrastructure," the company said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
"Remediation work will be undertaken over a four-week period and extraction of the higher grade (silver and lead) ... will be delayed."
As a result, South32 has reduced production forecasts for this year, cutting lead by 28,000 tonnes to 135,000 tonnes, zinc by 10,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes and silver by 2.55 million ounces to 16.5 million ounces.