TORONTO — Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. is cutting back operations at its recently purchased Detour Lake Mine in northern Ontario to protect employees and their communities from the COVID-19 virus.
It says it will reduce the number of staff on site to about 300 needed for mill processing of reduced amounts of ore from open pit mining and stockpiles, and maintaining water management and environmental care.
The initiatives are to be in place from Monday until April 30.
Kirkland Lake says workers who are affected are to receive paid leave for 14 working days, which it says is the equivalent of a month of normal pay.
The move is expected to reduce the population of the Detour Lake worker camp, which accommodates about 1,100 workers at any given time. Workers from remote First Nations communities and those requiring air transport are also being asked to stay away.
Although the Toronto-based company says it has no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at any of its sites, it says all mine sites are ceasing non-essential services and all exploration work.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2020.
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The Canadian Press
