Sudbury's McCreedy West mine slated for shutdown

CBC News has confirmed that the McCreedy West Mine in Sudbury will temporarily shut down starting Oct. 1, due to slumping nickel and ore prices.

The mine, which is owned by multi-national mining company KGHM, will go into care and maintenance mode until commodity prices pick up.

A spokesperson with the union representing mine workers said the majority of jobs at the mine will be lost, with the exception of a few who will maintain the site.

"They're going to just maintain it so that it doesn't flood. They keep the pumps operating. There will be a very sparse crew there," Myles Sullivan said.

"And the hope is that commodity prices are low and that these lay-offs are temporary and that it opens back up."

A KGHM spokesperson confirmed the reduction in workforce at its Sudbury Operations includes 39 union members and 10 staff for a total of 49 people overall

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The layoffs will also affect KGHM's larger Morrison Mine, also in Sudbury, due to bumping: some more seniorminers at McCreedy can bump junior miners at Morrison.

"Now we're working with the employer to make sure that people can bump and be placed into different roles are per their seniority and qualifications," Sullivan said.

"Just because a miner works at McCreedy and it's closing, doesn't mean that they're laid off. They have a chance to go to Morrison. And if they have more seniority and the qualifications they have the chance to bump a junior person who hasn't been employed by the company as long."

About 300 people are employed between the two mines.

Sullivan, who is the area co-ordinator for the United Steelworkers in northeastern Ontario, said the announcement is "sad news for the community and the workers at KGHM."

'Tough times'for workers

Workers were informed late last week.

"We're looking at good-paying, full time jobs," Sullivan continued.

"They're everything from miners to mechanics to maintenance, to electricians. But mainly mining personnel [will be affected]."

The laid off workers will be put on a recall list.

"It's tough times for the workers. Everybody's got a family, and they've got bill payments," Sullivan said.

"A lot of them have mortgages. To all of a sudden be given a couple of weeks' notice that you're going to be laid off isn't easy. We're working with [the workers]. We're hoping that this is temporary. And that's all we can do."

KGHM reported in January that production would be halted due to a lack of smelter capacity. There was talk of layoffs at the time.

McCreedy was first developed by INCO in the 1970s, and Sudbury miner FNX gave it a second life in the early 2000s. KGHM took over from FNX in 2001.