Spain has implemented enhanced measures to protect its people from the fast-spreading coronavirus with a new royal decree on Sunday stipulating that only employees from essential industries are allowed to work for the next week-and-a-half.

The list of essential industries excludes mining and consequently, Aim- and TSX-listed Atalaya Mining on Monday announced that its Proyecto Riotinto copper mine would cease operations until April 10.

The company said in a statement that it would maintain a minimum workforce for care-and-maintenance work during the stoppage.

Aim-listed W Resources also announced that it had initiated a programme to close the La Parilla tungsten mine to comply with the government decree. The orderly closure should be completed by Tuesday and a small maintenance crew and security wouldremain on site.

As part of the state of emergency, Spain has also announced that it would provide guarantees of up to 90% of funds to back companies affected by the pandemic. W stated that it had started the process to enable it to access grants and government guarantees for low-cost Spanish Bank funding to strengthen its financial position.

The company has also secured a £4-million convertible bond facility from Atlas Capital Markets, comprising a convertible bond with a coupon of 5% and a term of three years.

TSX-V-listed Orvana confirmed that it had reduced its normal mining operations at its OroValle mine to the minimum essential activities allowed under the extended lockdown order.

Spain has been in lockdown for two weeks under a national state of emergency and on Sunday tightened controls, as the number of infections and deaths from Covid-19 continues to increase.

At the time of writing, the country had 85 195 coronavirus cases, of which 4 165 are considered in serious or critical condition. The country has already reported 7 340 deaths from the virus.

Other companies operating in Spain’s mining industry include Canada’s First Quantum, which owns the Las Cruces mine, as well as Australian company Infinity Lithium, which is advancing the San Jose lithium project and Europa Metals, which is exploring in the Castilla y Leon region.