Production at the primary DeGrussa and Conductor 1 deposits had previously been on hold as a precautionary measure.

Increased water flows from underground drill holes at the Conductor 4/5 decline forced the shutdown, but in a new update Sandfire said work had now brought the water under control.

The remaining water flow is now being pumped directly to the surface.

Looking ahead, Sandfire said it continued to work on permanently reducing water at the decline as part of a long-term strategy for the mine.

This work is happening alongside an ongoing hydrological and geotechnical review.

The shutdown was only a minor hiccup for the mine’s operations, and guidance of 65,000-70,000t copper and 35,000-40,000 ounces gold for the 2015 financial year remains unchanged.

Development activities at Conductor 4/5 are also on track to re-start around the end of the December quarter.

The Conductor 4/5 decline is being developed to provide access to the deeper Conductor 4 and 5 deposits at DeGrussa, which are not scheduled to contribute to mine production until financial year 2016.

All underground ore is currently sourced from the DeGrussa and Conductor 1 deposits, with the mine concentrator processing run-of-mine stockpiles while production was on hold.

Sandfire shares were last trading 4% lower at $A4.34.