Copper producer Nevada Copper announced this week that its milling operations have resumed at the firm’s Pumpkin Hollow underground project in Nevada following a COVID-19-related shutdown.

The processing plant restarted on August 20, a company release said Monday. 160,000 tn of ore is currently stored at the site for processing. Nevada Copper said it will supplement its stockpile with development ore and stope ore hoisted from the East North Ventilation Shaft (ENVS), and continue to hoist material from the ENVS until its main shaft is finished.

“We are encouraged by the processing plant restart at our Pumpkin Hollow mine,” Evan Spencer, Nevada Copper’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Our full workforce has been mobilized and we have transitioned our operations back into production smoothly, picking up where we left off in Q1. We look forward to executing our ramp-up plans and will report on progress in the coming months.”

The main shaft hoisting is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2020.

As the facility ramps back up, Nevada Copper said it has implemented a range of health and safety measures to protect workers from COVID-19 risks.